Crossfire
by CMayleenJ
Summary: With the kickoff of the third season, The Alpha Adventures of Madison Dubolazov do, too, in the third installment. After her return from her mysterious trip from Russia, she's brought back some secrets with her, secrets with the ability to save or kill with the dangerous factor of a Pack of Alphas nearby stirring trouble. She's come offering aid but what else does she serve?
1. Return of the Alphas P1-3 (3x01Tattoo)

_Chapter One_

_"3x01" –Tattoo/ __**Return of the Alphas**_

"Here," the blonde demanded, hoisting Isaac off the ground. "Take him and get as far away as possible." She pulled his weight effortlessly, as if he weighed nothing despite her smaller frame. Her pale but firm forearms constricted around his torso as his head lopped sideways. She handed him to the other female who struggled to hold him up.

"What about you," she frantically inquired. "What are you going to do? They saw you. They'll be after you."

The silver blonde shook her head. "They didn't. They don't even know I exist. They're here for a different reason."

"They can smell you!" she adamantly persisted, shooting a desperate expression of wide brown eyes full of fear towards her companion's shadowed figure.

"I will catch their scent first," she said fiercely, flashing her eyes a fiery red. "They'll have to catch me first and that's all but impossible," she confidently said. "Just take care of Isaac and I'll see what I can do."

"You can't stop them," the darker haired woman pressed, using one hand to grab onto the blonde's leathered shoulder. "They're Alphas!"

"So am I," the blonde retorted, "or have you forgotten? I'll be fine. Believe me," she compelled.

"They're stronger," she exclaimed. "It's a suicide mission."

The blonde chuckled humorlessly. "On contrary," she began menacingly, conceding a tremble up the other girl's spine. "I'm stronger than you think." She grinned as her body trembled. The girl leapt back, accidently dropping Isaac onto the ground with a hard thud in her moment of fright, as the blonde stranger began to shift in a tear of clothes. The brightness of her straight silver locks vanished in a blur of black as a large head lifted from the concrete floor, baring sharp red eyes at the unsuspecting girl. She struggled for a breath as she acknowledged the enormous wolf staring directly at her.

_The more one can morph closer to their animalistic roots, the stronger they are. _She remembered.

"How," she stuttered. The wolf only nodded once, referring to Isaac's limp form on the ground. She nudged him almost tenderly with her nose but with enough strength to push him aside a few inches. The girl got her drift and heaved him up again. The wolf stepped closer to the body so when she lost control of his mass he fell on top of her. The wolf didn't budge as he hit her spine and instead shook her mane and began walking forward quickly to escape open sight. The girl followed obediently as the obvious Alpha wolf took lead into the ally way.

They suddenly stopped as they approached her motorcycle. Just as the girl reached towards Isaac, the Alpha reared her head. She only caught a glimpse of her glistening white fangs before they sunk into her forearm. She shrieked loudly as the sudden sting before her arms erupted in fire, burning her flesh from underneath. The Alpha released her bloody hold and licked some of the blood off her blackened muzzle.

"Why'd you do that," she cried out, glaring at the wolf.

_So you can hear me, _she explained clearly. The girl gasped at the foreign voice in her head. _Much like their ability to steal and share memories, _she continued, nodding towards Isaac's open wound, _my bite has the ability to impose telepathy. I'm sorry about the pain, _she said lowly while looking around, as if smelling something. She stiffened. _They are coming near. We better hurry. Grab Isaac and go, I'll follow from behind to make sure they don't close again. The bite should heal quickly enough so they don't suspect anything. _

She looked down at her forearm and as she had described, the flaming red, bloody deep teeth marks were all but vanished. She touched the wound and winced. The pain was still there but the mark was unblemished on her dark caramel skin. She looked at the wolf. It leaned towards her to aid her as Isaac fell into her arms.

_Good Luck, _she bid her as she jolted toward in a predatory manner. She snarled lowly in the opposite direction before swerving her large head back again towards Isaac and the girl. _If you need anything, you tell me. I'll know. You remember their faces, okay? _

"What's your name," she begged as the wolf moved forward again, gaining distance. She abruptly stopped and turned slightly with a raised tail. Long claws extended from her paws and teeth grazed her lower jaw. Tall, sharp ears perked in a proud, confident manner. The girl looked at the shadowed creature with awe, stunned by the grace of her presence.

_If I told you, that'd put us both at risk, _the wolf deflected, _but you can call me Aubrey. That's what the rest do. Keep in mind though, that's not my blood name. _The wolf turned around again before stopping suddenly halting, as if struck with something and still in the phase of shock. _Actually, _she began. The girl could almost imagine a smirk adorning her lips if she were human. _You can call me a Volkov, and that's all you need to know. _Within a moment, in a blur of black and soft thuds of paws that became deathly silent into the mist, she was gone and the girl was left alone with Isaac depending on her balance.

"Volkov," she stumbled. Her heart began to race and her blood boiled uncomfortably at the thought of being within proximity of the legendary name. She turned to Isaac. "What could a Volkov be doing here?" _Is Scott that important he has a Volkov involved? Volkovs' never care about anyone outside familial ties… _She thought to herself before asserting focus and forcing herself to remain attentive to Isaac's state as she lied him down on the ground to reach for plug sparks attached to her bike.

The wolf loomed around the corner, glaring at the ghostly fog obstructing her sense of vision but her nostrils could not be deceived as the picked up a pair of similar scents nearby from the sound. She suspended a growl momentarily as her head hiked upwards, twitching her ears as the sound of their footsteps coming forward. She dashed around at a speed impossible to see, before disappearing into the night where she blended in the shadows. The swish of her tail was the only eminent hint left of her presence, besides the scent of a unique forest that only the coldest corners of rural Russia could hold.

Two looming figures noticed the sudden change of the atmosphere. The usual alley cats had scattered and in the distance lone, blood curdling howls alerting them to some other presence lurking around. They stopped abruptly in their pursuit to track to smell and narrowed to the alley opening, eyeing the misty space waiting for something to burst out but nothing did.

Behind them a familiar shadow darted across, purposely knocking over a trashcan to startle them. They veered around in an anxious haste and growled ferociously at the unknown threat. They only saw the flicker of a black blur and they instinctively ran towards it.

It was a dead end, they realized with widened eyes. Their dark orbs glowed red with suspicion as they searched each shadowed corner but came up with nothing. Suddenly, a loud, vibrant growl startled them from behind and they spun around, claws barred and teeth sharp and eager to tear into flesh.

They retracted their predatory assets as a lone figure glided forward, almost silent on her paws. She advanced forward slowly, baring her own teeth in retaliation while the pair of twins acknowledged her great size and figure.

They growled fiercely as she continued to come forward, intimidating them with her tall, confident stature. She was unknown to them with abilities they weren't quite sure of. They kept hardened though and rose to their greatest height but she was undeterred.

She raised her head and starred them directly before releasing a blood curdling howl, echoing over the roof tops in a chilling manner. She lowered her head before doing so again, concerning the twins.

They listened intently but could only hear her echoed cry and smirked. "Got no one to back you up, huh," one sneered stepping ahead. She snarled, putting him back in place as he stumbled back.

"All bark, no bite," the other teased. The wolf narrowed her glowing red eyes which he only now acknowledged as he suppressed a shudder.

"An Alpha," the same one recognized out loud.

"But who," the other finished, glaring at the wolf.

As if smirking, the wolf turned her head as her body followed suit and jolted forward in the opposite, provoking the boys the chase her but they knew better. "No," one demanded the other while pushing him back. "Get the girl," he prioritized. The other one nodded along and turned to the opposing direction, following his brother faithfully.

The distant roar of a motorcycle was still loud and present, concerning the wolf as she caught the boys' retreating figures towards the source. She snarled and leapt towards their direction, running in stealth behind the many turns and corners of the yard trying to intercept them as they had gained significant distance on her. She could've out caught up with them but that would require they both meet at the source and she couldn't risk having them touch the girl so she settled with an alternate route to get ahead of them.

The shattering of glass shocked her as the sharpened pieces clattered onto the floor. Her heart jumped and the blood boiled under her dark coarse fur. She raced towards the sound and noticed the warehouse nearby and took a risky chance that perhaps that was where they had crashed. At the same time she noticed the two shadowed figures lurk towards the opening.

Suddenly, they heard the familiar growl and turned their heads towards the left where fog obstructed their view but the distinct unknown smell remained, alarming them at the speed of their pursuer. She emerged from the darkness with a sudden fury, bolting towards them with snarls and snares. The parted to avoid her wrath and they took the opportunity to suddenly shift to her right and into the gaping opening of the broken glass. She landed far from the debris and towards Isaac who stared up at her in awe.

The girl looked at her with gratitude before her dark eyes widened at shock when the two began to approach them frightfully fast. The wolf spun on its heel and glared at them sharply.

"Get down," the girl urged both of them as the twins began to mold together. The wolf watched intently as it stepped aside for a clear shot as the girl prepared her gun behind her. Her beady red eyes focused on their movements, how the submissive one kneeled down while his brother sunk his claws into his neck, asserting a more dominant role before the two unnatural merged together as one, growing in height and stature well above the wolf's tremendous height. She instinctively backed away closer to Isaac, shielding him as they lurched forward.

The wolf cringed at the blast of the shot gun but held her ground towering over Isaac who gazed up at her with searching eyes. He almost recognized her eyes, despite her red linings, but remembering a familiar sharp shape about them. He tried to peg an identity but failed as this was the first full grown wolf he's seen compared the Derek's humanoid Alpha shape. He reached out hesitantly and from her peripheral vision she pulled her analyzing eyes away from convulsing twins to Isaac.

He jolted back in fright of being caught and punished but was utterly surprised when the wolf tenderly nudged his hand with her wet nose. He laughed as much as he could in his dazed state. The girl watched them with skeptical eyes from her helmet as she witnessed what was supposed to be idealized a killing machine subject the softest of affection towards the boy. She gaped when the wolf dragged her tongue across his face, licking some of the blood from his forehead. He touched the sore wound with a physical wince only to be bewildered when he didn't feel any kind of cut or laceration on his forehead as he expected. He looked up at the wolf with amazement.

She had looked away to the spot where the alpha pair has fallen but they were nowhere to be seen, alarming her. She growled at the direction and then looked towards the girl who shook her head.

Isaac watched at the wolf and the girl shared a look he could decipher before the wolf trotted away, leaving them behind for who knows what.

"Who was that?" Isaac asked groggily.

The girl shook her head. "A powerful ally, that's who," she mused.

"But _who_," he repeated heatedly with furrowed brows.

She continued forward across the yard. Bounding with powerful leaps despite the minor sting in her hind leg from a small glass sharp embedded in the top layer of her flesh. She kept her head crouch low as her nose took in the scents clinging to the ground. She caught a familiar one, exciting her as told by her perked ears. She suppressed a growl to retain her silent stealth and trotted forward, keeping her walk light and almost inaudible as she disappeared into the wall of fog, becoming a shadowy ghost in the midst of the night.

The blaring headlights of a car came forward, curbed to the side of the street. The driver waited behind blackened windows, waiting for someone to emerge from the cluster of metal boxes and containers.

A slim figure stepped out quietly from the blackened shadows and towards the car. The peripheral extension of the highlights caught onto her sleek black pants and bare feet. She stopped abruptly, adjusting her sweatshirt as seen in the swishing of the hems of the thick coat. The unlit torso of the figure advanced towards the car and opened the passenger side of the car.

The driver glanced to her new companion and pushed back a stray strand of dark hair from her face with a finger to look at the newcomer.

"How'd it go? Did you get a good look at them?" The driver inquired as she shifted the vehicle into drive. The white sedan pulled away from the curb into the vacant street, sliding into the middle lane along the dividing line.

The passenger nodded. "I got the faces of the twins," she answered. "I think I figured out who's the dominant one," she added. She looked away at the streets, eyeing the empty sidewalks. It was too late for any pedestrian to be out walking in the danger of the night. "Drop me off at Derek's and drive to the hospital. You need to have that cough checked out."

"What cough," the driver objected. The passenger shot her a dirty look.

"You've been coughing blood for the past month. You need it check out," the blonde directed. Her blue eyes softened at her companion's pale state. "You're not well, Tabitha. I should've never brought you with me. Just go for me, please." She begged. Hesitantly the brunette nodded. The blonde tried to conceive a smile but it failed to be authentic. "I just want you to be fine, you know that, right? I don't know….what I'd do…if I lost you. You're my _sister, _Tabi. I love you. You've been with me since God knows when…if you gave me another scare like you did back there in Russia…I'd-I'd lose it, I won't lie. I'd lose all strands of sanity I have left." She felt her throat constrict painfully at the memory of the brunette bed ridden and pasty. Dark locks stuck to her sunken face with drenching sweat as she struggled for breath. Fresh, blazing red cuts coated with dried blood marred her skin all over. "Promise me, you'll do it."

"I'll go to Deaton first," Tabitha compromised shakily. "He knows this better than most doctors do. Is that okay?"

The blonde hesitantly nodded. "Why won't you go to the hospital?" She had to ask. Tabitha bowed her head low as the slowed to a red light.

"I don't want it to get around to my dad…" She admitted and it finally struck the blonde who nodded her head evenly in understanding.

"Okay," she complied quietly. "Derek's place is to the left. Drop me off at the curb. Go straight home and rest and I expect you to see Deaton first thing in the morning." Tabitha nodded as the veered off the road and waited for the passenger to unload. "I'll see you at school," she bid, smirking.

"Wait," Tabitha exclaimed at the black clad blonde parted with the luxury vehicle. "How are you going to get home?" She inquired, leaning out of the window. The blonde stopped and grinned at her friend.

"Derek, of course," she hinted with a wink. Tabitha felt sick to the stomach but she assumed it was because of her recent ailments. She suppressed a couch despite the strong urge to unload the heavy weight in her stomach pushing her intestines upwards. She got back in the car before the blonde could notice the green tint in her facial complexion.

_Got to keep it down, _she encouraged herself while she suppressed it with a large gulp of warm water she had left in the car from earlier. _You have a few minutes to get home. You can use the short cut Madison showed you a long time ago. _She turned the steering wheel and exited back onto the highway, pressing down on the accelerator to shave off second or perhaps even minutes from her trip to hurry to the bathroom so she could get blood remnants all over Madison's tan leather. The sickening feeling grew heavier and she couldn't get rid of it, no matter how many sips of water she guzzled, and soon enough she had none left of the mineral water. _Damnit, _she cursed to herself.

Madison ascended the steps of the outdated building, eyeing the walls with disdain, noting to herself how someone should really consider complaining to the owner. She reached the destined floor and stopped at a door. She could hear someone inside and grinned when she heard those footsteps stop abruptly, knowing whoever was inside heard her.

Derek could smell her –not knowing _her _as the scent was something new, something unrecognizable. His green eyes glared red as he approached the door, claws extended, eager to greet the new threat head on. He waited a second, listening intently from the other side of the door but only heard her shallow, ghostly breathing.

He opened the door slowly. His canines bear only to retract them when her glistening white smirk welcomed him.

"Madison," he whispered in disbelief. She smirked at his widened eyes and stepped in around him, examining the new loft.

"It looks dull," she commented, motioning to the concrete walls. "The windows are a nice touch," she said, glancing at the bay windows overlooking the city. "The view alone adds value," she reviewed before moving forward. Derek closed the door behind him and followed her slim physique faithfully while admiring her features.

Something about the distance had chance her. Was it the silver touch on her light hair, lighter than before? Was it the longer length? Or was it something different other than her hair completely? She seemed taller…or was the confidence in her stride? Her eyes –within the short moment he had to examine them –were darker, almost sapphire. She spun around as she reached the elongated desk and crossed her legs in a relaxed position as she leaned back.

"We have a lot to talk about Derek," she began, beckoning him with a wagging finger.

"We do," he agreed coldly. "Like how you disappeared on us for four months," he retorted with narrowed eyes.

"For good reasons," she argued with equally slit eyes. He glared down at her but she was undeterred. "I learned a lot in Russia," she began. She pulled herself up on the desk. His eyebrows skyrocketed.

"Russia," he repeated, surprised. She nodded.

"Yeah," she sarcastically said. "_Russia_," she emphasized, "you know my roots? My father lived there? _That Russia_," she clearly said with amused eyes. Derek sneered at her condescending manner. At least that didn't change, he thought. "I learned quite a lot there. A lot about my birth right," she said with a smirk, "my capabilities," she added with a red glint in her eyes, "and a lot more about my past than I would have here. I think what I gained from there will help you with our little situation about the new pack in town," she finished with a grin.

"Like what," he inquired seriously. He closed in closer to her until the tips of their noses touched.

"Like how to kill them," she said close to his lips but not quite enough to close to deal. His hands quivered closer to her hips. "Turns out my birth right as a Volkov grants me additional strength over the typical Alpha," she said, grabbing his arm. "I could snap you in half if I wanted," she teased as she raised her lips to his neck, feeling his quivering pulse, "but I prefer using my skills in another activities if you get my drift," she teased. He grabbed her back and molded her body to his. "Slow down, _mutt_," she said, pushing him away with tremendous strength. Derek looked up from the floor he stumbled onto as she approached him.

How did she muster so much strength to send an Alpha of his weight and stature to bow at her feet? He thought frantically as she kneeled over him. "I don't want to kill anyone, I don't want to go down that road," she confided honestly to him but the spark in her eyes told him otherwise, "but I will to protect Scott and the rest of you. Don't assume though I'm doing this for you," she insisted with a hardened voice. "I don't have a supreme sense of smell for nothing. My father is alive, how, I don't know, but someone revived him and I need to find him and you're going to help me for exchange for my aid against the Alphas, understand?"

Derek nodded. She helped him up. "Shake on it," she demanded. He hesitantly took her hand but just as he was about to grip her palm she struck it out like a snake and wrapped her steel grip on his wrist, digging her claw into is. He yelped and tried to escape it but she wouldn't let go. Her eyes flashed a ruby red for a moment as her claws drew blood before letting him go.

_Now we share a connection, _she sent to him telepathically. He looked up from his bloodied wrists to her, awed by the fact her rose pale pink lips did not move. _They're not the only Alphas with special abilities. _She smirked. _Now you can know what I'm thinking and I know what you're thinking. _He was taken aback by images of the past hour and the twins morphing. _You'll thank me later. _

"How'd you do that?" He asked, clinging to his throbbing wrist. She shrugged.

"My father came from a powerful line and my mother had more surprises that I thought, who would've known a witch could have fallen in love with a werewolf," she explained with light, amused eyes. "But," she deterred, "that's a story for another time."

Tabitha approached another red light as she closed in closer to town. She let out another violent coughing fit, covering her mouth with her sleeve before they subsided. She leaned back into the leather seat slowly as she body throbbed at the sudden attack. She glanced at her sleeve holding the wheel and noticed the specks of blood splattering the elbow and forearm area. She winced. That was more blood than before. It was getting worse, she realized. The pit in her stomach deepened.

The light turned green and she slowly rolled forward, gaining speed gradually as she tried to focus her head despite her heavy head and growing migraine. She only made it so far before she came across a parked jeep in the middle the road. She felt suddenly sick as she recognized the model and frantically turned the wheel around to veer around it without being noticed but it was too late as she passed the group of teenagers congregated in the middle.

"That's Madison's BMW, tell me not," Stiles burst when he caught the blur of white maneuver around his Jeep. Scott looked away from the deer caught in Lydia's shattered windshield and saw the blinding headlights. Taking Stiles' word, he stepped in front of it without thought and it broke to an abrupt stop followed by a blaring horn. "What is she doing here," Stiles demanded, breaking from Lydia and towards the car in an angry fluster. He knocked on the window before Scott intercepted him and pulled him away. He opened the side door and gaped when he caught the tussles of dark brown cascade over a bare shoulder rather the usual blonde curls.

"Hi," Tabitha croaked shyly, looking away from Stiles' wide amber eyes and into Scott's darker ones. "Wrong person," she tried to joke but another fit of coughs cut her off and she leaned out, doubling over, as she struggled for breath. She reached out for a hand and felt the warmth of another palm clutching hers as she bent over, heaving.

"Are you okay," Scott frantically asked as she witnessed her emerald eyes widen with pure fear and agony. She shook her head as she couldn't express with words. The metallic taste of blood revisited her mouth and she felt some of it spill onto her jeans.

"Oh my God," Stiles cried out when he caught sight of the blood. "She is not okay," Stiles reprimanded, glaring at Scott, before picking her up and dragging her from the car and holding her in a crouching position so she wouldn't choke on the blood. She convulsed violently in his arms before reached out and grabbing the collar of his shirt for support. He held her close as she calmed down and her coughs subsided. She gathered herself up and stood up straight, meeting Stiles' eye level when he crouched to examine her red eyes. The vessels had burst around her green pupils. She shook in the cold and tried to balance on her own. She shook Stiles off and took a deep breath.

"What wrong with you," Scott demanded, motioning to her blood splattered clothing.

"We don't know," She whimpered honestly. "It's some kind of bug," she sighed. "A really bad bug but I don't know what."

Scott nodded. "From where," he persisted. She gave him a cold look –despite her condition –that gave him chills.

"Madison will tell you later," she diverted before looking at the deer in the windshield. She laughed humorously. "Which one of you idiots ran into that? That's a big one, a 6 pointer," she commented, examining the creature from afar. Lydia glared at her.

"It ran _at us," _she defended adamantly. Tabitha rolled her eyes.

"Why would it do that?" Tabitha sarcastically shot back. Lydia stomped toward her and tried to push a finger into her chest but Tabitha intercepted the hand and crushed it in her grip. Lydia cringed and shrieked at the sudden pain. Tabitha released her and Lydia cradled the injured hand. "I may be injured," Tabitha growled out, "but I can still kick your ass, or better yet, _kill _it." She threatened. Lydia nodded along, getting the point and retreated back to Allison's side.

"Don't approach an injured animal," Allison confided to Lydia, "they might bite back. She looks really bad, Lydia. She's never that pale," Allison commented with concerned eyes. Tabitha's side banes stuck to the side her face with her oily hair was pulled. Her cheeks weren't as rosy and seemed ghostly white, sunken in, and her eyes had dark blue-grey circles underneath them.

"Look guys, let me go home, please," Tabitha pleaded. "I'm tired. I feel awful," and as if to prove so, she let out a yawn. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are you sure you want to go to school in that condition?" Scott asked, holding her head as they guided her back to her car.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm _fine, _guys. I have Madison to take care of me."

"Where is she anyways," Scott persisted. "She –both of you have been gone for months." Tabitha slipped on her seatbelt. "Wait, no, I don't trust you to drive by yourself. I'll drive you home," Scott insisted, pulling her out. She was in no condition to put up a fight and complied, weaker than usual. "Stiles, you can pick me up later tonight but I have to make sure she's alright."

"No," Stiles objected. "Look, you can drive my Jeep, or one of the girls can," he offered. "I've driven the BMW before. You can pick me up at Madison's place after you drop the girls off. I'll drive Tabi home," he assured, stepping into the driver's seat. Scott lead Tabitha to the passenger seat and buckled her in as her head drifted to the shoulder of the seat, letting her hair fall over her shoulder.

"Where is Madison," Scott continued. Tabitha shook her head groggily.

"Derek's place," she croaked. "She needed to see him. I don't know why. I don't ask questions."

Scott nodded and combed her hair back with his fingers. "Get better Tabi," he bid as he was about to shut the door. She smiled meekly.

"Thanks Scott," she groaned. Stiles laid a hand on Tabitha's bloodied hand and drove forward after Scott closed the door. Stiles held her hand tightly and looked at what the dark haired beauty had become, just a shell of white flesh and bones. He pursed his lips in frustration. She fluttered her eye lids before falling into a deep sleep, letting exhaustion take over. He sped faster, urgently taking a left and to the hospital nearby. There was no way he'd let her continue on like this.

They raced to the hospital but she was far too deep in a daze to recognize his panic. They parked in front of the loading station next to an ambulance.

"Tabitha," he urged, shaking her shoulder. She whined lowly. Her eye lids fluttered but not enough to reveal her blood shot eyes. "Tabi, time to get up, we need to get you inside." She still refused to wake up and Stiles' panic mode lit up like a torch. He burst from his side of the car and pried open her side with anxious hands. Attendants met him up front as he pulled Tabitha out, carrying her bridal style. She lay limp in his arms and that's when his panic sets in. A stretcher is pulled out and she was pulled from his grip and laid out.

"What's that problem," one inquired as they rolled in. Stiles kept at her side.

"She's coughing up blood, she's weak, and she passed out in the car," Stiles rushed.

"Okay son, we got it from here," the attendant excused, pushing him away. Stiles looked on loanword, distressed and frustrated. He pulled out his phone and tried to call Madison's old number but only came with the familiar out-of-service response and groaned in frustration. He threw his hands up in defeat.

Tabitha barely processed the chaos around her as she seemed to float within the white barriers of the walls, eyeing a few figures in a blurry haze. She saw a flurry of black curls loom over her while a soft feminine repeated her name. A grip held her hand reassuringly as they turned the corner and pushed her into a narrowed space before she recognized the archway as an opened door to a darkened room before they flipped on blinding lights. She squeezed her eyes shut to avoid the glare.

_Madison, _she frantically thought. _Madison, where am I? _

Doctors struggled to pull up her sleeve and insert a pinching IV. She winced. _It hurts, Madison. Mads, please, where are you? _Another jerk of a needle made her squirm.

"Don't worry, I got you," Melissa McCall assured as Tabitha painfully gripped her hands as if she was fighting death itself. Another doctor had to hold down her legs as she began to instinctively kick just like her father taught her. "We're trying to help you," Melissa exclaimed, surprised by the girl's tremendous strength. "Who can we call?"

"Madison," she cried out aggressively, pulling her hand away from Melissa's. "Get Madison," she screamed.

Stiles' head jolted up at the shriek as Tabitha's voice echoed throughout the halls. He made no hesitance to follow it and slipped into the room, replacing Melissa's spot as he grabbed her hand, ignoring the pain of her squeeze.

"Tabi, it's me, Stiles," he assured her, "I'm here. There are doctors trying to help you, will you let them? I got you. Squeeze if you get scared," he assured her. She squeezed again as one of the doctors administered another shot.

"This is a sedative and it'll keep her heart beat steady," they explained to them. "Good job Son," he added when he noticed her relaxed figure. "This girl here is a fighter," he commented with a stern gaze, "and I'm sure whatever she has she'll pull through it."

"Thank you Stiles," Melissa said quietly and soothed down Tabitha's sweat drenched banes behind her ears. "How do you know her?"

Stiles bit his bottom lip for a moment considering an answer. "She's a friend of ours, and a really close friend of mine," he replied. "I haven't seen her for months."

"Where has she been?" Melissa inquired.

"I don't know," Stiles answered honestly. He shook his head. She slept quietly, slipping into her subconscious. Her breathing evened and she let her head fall into the pillow. Stiles eventually dropped her hand and laid it on her torso as he examined the rest of her body with careful eyes.

"First Isaac, now Tabitha," Melissa whispered to herself as she lifted the girl's shirt to examine the multitude of deep cuts and bruises. "It looks like she's been starved," she noticed by the shallowness of Tabitha's stomach and the indent of bones protruding. "Or her body has been rejecting food," she suggested an alternative. "We'll learn later on. Go home, Stiles, and get some rest. I'll have Scott keep you updated." Stiles hesitantly nodded and walked away slowly, glancing at her body one more time before turning his back and leaving the room.


	2. Return of the Alphas P2-3 (3x01Tattoo)

**_CHAPTER 1; Part 2_**

**_"3x01" Tattoo/Return of The Alphas_**

_Next Morning… _

_…Onto something to admire….but I can't help to notice but….reflecting…if you ever… _

Madison's eyes flickered at the hummed of the familiar tune as the words were muffled by her clothing a few feet away. She turned to the sound, momentarily blinded by blinding rays of the early sun gleaming through the dusty bay windows. She raised her head from the pillow only to feel the sheet covering her bare body slip down. She recovered them in a quick fist and held them close to cover her breasts as blush deepened into a cherry red onto her cheeks.

_Feel alone and….hard to find….other side….hand in hand…tell you there is no place we couldn't go….gotta be strong…I don't want to lose you now… _

She glanced at Derek's sleeping form beside her and caught herself smiling slightly at his tussled hair and almost peaceful face. His bare shoulders peaked from under the sheets as his sleeping face directed at her bare back. She noticed slight red marks clawed into his shoulder, wrapping around the back to the front. She grinned. _Those were definitely from her_.

She felt sore herself from his rough hands and was confident she'd find his handprints around her thigh when she would examine herself in the mirror. First she'd have to gather her clothes before he woke up asking for round two…or six… either way she couldn't afford to waste any more precious minutes rolling around in his sheets when she had to get to school, it was her first day back especially.

She hurried out and grabbed a shirt from the floor that she saw first as a simple cover and pulled it over her head. It was Derek's, she noticed, when its fitted hems loosely scathed her blue-grey bruised thighs. She slid on her underwear next to it so she wouldn't be bare-butted and sought her pants, only to come empty handed.

"Damn it," she cursed to herself as she reached for her phone to silence her alarm, noting the time. She'd have to hurry home if she wanted to sneak in a shower to get rid of post-sex stench Derek all but smothered onto her. A brush wouldn't be able to smooth down her hair either, she added mentally as she fingered her tussled silver strands. She looked around his keys but they wouldn't be in an obvious spot.

"Nice shirt," a male voice announced groggily. Madison winced and clenched her teeth. She refused to turn around and enlighten him. Just as she suspected, his light green eyes were alert and amused. "I think you might be confused. Yours is on my side," he added. Madison narrowed her indigo blue eyes and spun around to look at his victorious face, beaming white grin and all.

"If you could so kind and toss it to me," she forced out. Derek chuckled and reached down on his side and plucked it from the floor and threw it at her lightly. "Thank you," she mumbled before turning around to throw his off so she could replace it with her own. Derek groaned from behind her and she failed to suppress her laughter at his vocalized frustration.

"Last night was fun," she admitted to him while curling his shirt into her hand. "It really was, but sadly I have to go to school and to do that, I need a ride, so you can either tell me where your keys are at so I can drive myself or you can get dressed and drop me off so I don't have to walk the walk-of-shame straight into the school doors." She tossed him his shirt and gathered the dark pair of yoga pants at her feet and slid them on.

Derek smirked and shook his head. "You really think I'm going to let you drive my car," he sarcastically bit. Madison narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her hands over her chest. "Give me five minutes, I'll be ready," he answered. She rolled her eyes and walked around looking for the rest of her clothing and folded them up in her arms while Derek did the same.

"You sure you don't want to…" He began but was immediately shut up by Madison's murderous look.

"Don't think _anything _of it," she ordered with a pointed finger. He raised his hand up in surrender before shifting through his pile of clothes for his jeans. After slipping them on, he followed her out the door, keys in hand.

"So what invoked you to, well, you know," he made a motion with his hands behind her that she caught with her peripheral vision. She shrugged.

"Well, I could have went to McCall, God knows that boy is nice eye candy but he's too emotionally invested in Allison and other things and he'd think so much more of it than I would, same with Isaac. He's not….mature yet, and Tabitha would be heartbroken if I decided to jump on Stiles –and I don't think he would be able to keep up with me like you could –which is why I knocked on your door. You're the only one I know personally enough that having casual sex was okay with," she explained casually. He went ahead of her to open the door for her, a favor she rewarded with surprised eyes. "How kind of you, Derek," she said skeptically.

"Why so suspicious," Derek retorted lightly, "I'm only a man being nice to a woman," he explained behind her as they rounded the building's corner.

"You never opened doors for me before," she teased. Derek raised a brow.

"You always ran out like a ghost before I could," he remarked.

"Ah," she hummed with a finger flick, "got it." As they approached the black Camaro, she pulled her hair up in a messy bun, not minding the loose strands falling from the loose binder holding it all together. "Well thank you then, Derek," she teased as she opened her own door to emphasize her independence. He shrugged.

"So, are we going to school or your house?" He asked as he started the car.

She delivered a sharp, pointed look. "We're two hours early before it even opens its doors and I smell like sex," she explained contemptuously. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Home it is then," he mumbled to himself as he pulled out of the vacant spot. "Good to know your snark hasn't changed," he remarked. Madison grinned.

"Oh on contraire," she snidely said. "I have more snark than you can believe." Derek raised another brow at her comment and glanced at her playful face. Something about her naked grin and wide, frisky eyes excited him but he stifled his urge to grab a fistful of her bright blond hair and bring those untouched lips to his once more.

She leaned back into his leather and let her hand hang loose over the edge of the opened window, taking in the sights of the city in the orange hue of the sunrise. "Thanks for the ride," she honestly said to him, shooting him an authentic smile. He returned one back.

"I have a feeling if I didn't, you'd find my keys and take the car yourself," he joked. Madison let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh I would, Derek," she admitted with a grin. "I totally would."

Finally they parted from the concrete scenery of the urban branch of Beacon Hills and entered the suburban half Madison looked at what she had left behind in her haste to escape. She remembered the nail that sealed in her fate and looked at Derek as he slowed to the neighborhood limits. "Derek," she called out. He looked at her with accepting eyes as he took into account her quiet, vulnerable tone. "Did…did they find anything of my fathers? I left in a hurry and couldn't keep in touch."

Derek shook his head. "The case went cold. I'm sorry, Madison." She closed her eyes and nodded along understandingly.

"I…I know he's alive, you have to believe me on that one," she begged almost but with her infamous confidence that pulled him in. "I just want to figure out who awakened him, that's what I want to know. Who would know him enough to risk reviving from the dead? I need to find some kind of clue to put me in the right direction. I just don't get why he hasn't contacted me yet. A father –a dead one certainly –would want to check on his daughter, wouldn't he?" She fell to a whisper and Derek could see in her eyes how torn she really was.

"I'm sure he does," Derek insisted, putting a hand on her knee reassuringly. "I'm sure he misses you but maybe…maybe he's not ready to see you quite yet, or he's scared in his weakened state that maybe there are people out there still trying to kill him, or maybe he's trying to find you without catching attention and came up with nothing because you took refuge in a country across seas? There are so many explanations out there, and I don't think that '_he doesn't want to see you'_ is a valid one." He gave her the most honest look he could've composed with stern eyes and a sharp-cornered mouth. Hers twitched in response but could not achieve the full smile she wanted to.

"Thank you Derek," she replied earnestly. She patted his hand as a familiar gate came into view next to high hedges. "This is my place," she announced excitedly. "You can drop me off here," she directly as he came to a stop a few feet away. "Thank you again for everything," she said as she opened the door. She reached over and planted a small kiss on his cheek before grimacing. "Next time, do me a favor and shave that thing off, please?" she begged, patting his stubble. "It itches," she explained, pointing her neck, "and it scratched my neck so many times last night, I think my neck might be red for a quite a while before the irritation dies down." She soothed the side of her pale neck with her palm, wincing at the soreness. "Also," she added with a wink, "stubble doesn't look good for a man your age." She concluded the conversation with the slamming of his door and strutting off the gate, gathering her keys and putting them in a side lock so she wouldn't bother her uncles by asking to be buzzed in. She opened the gate open with ease and waved Derek goodbye as he turned around in the narrow street and sped off.

She climbed up the steep driveway ahead quietly and entered through the front pair of stained glass French doors.

A deep growl welcomed her upstairs and soon after the thudding of paws against wood thundering down the steps hinted at the golden haired beast eager to greet her. As she predicted, Clover had tumbled sloppily down the steps and onto the main landing where she all but tackled Madison with wet kisses and rough paws. The claws dug into her skin but she didn't mind as she scratched the dog's long, flopping ears affectionately.

"Oh girl, I missed you," she cooed, kissing the dog's crown and scratching the scruff of her wrinkled neck. "I see they've been over feeding you. Tabi won't be happy her prize winning hunting dog is being misused." She laughed at the dog's mindless, expressive brown eyes, "Looks like we got to go on another diet and training routine for you." She kicked off her shoes and headed to the kitchen for a quick morning snack as her stomach growled for something digest. The dog followed her, smelling her clothes incessantly and looking up at her with eyes that screamed 'traitor,' as the memory of Derek –another Alpha –was scarred into the dog's memory as an unwelcomed presence. She simply patted the dog's head and ushered her upstairs to join Frank and Trevor as the foot of their bed where she commonly slept when the girls were absent and returned to the bright, white kitchen. There, a small hand-written note welcomed her.

_Madison, Tabitha was admitted to the hospital last night. Stiles came by with your car after dropping her off. __We've checked on her and they say she's stabilized__. She's fine now. She's still at the hospital but on a 24 observation until she can be released. We can write you a note to check on her so you can miss school. _

_Love, _

_Frank and Trevor_

Of course it was in Frank's handwriting, as told by his slopping, slanted craft and almost illegible R's. She let out a heavy breath and re-read the note, before collapsing onto the stool and heaving a deep sob, unable to subdue the overwhelming waves of panic, helplessness, and guilt she felt all at once. She pulled her hair back with her hands and reminded herself that Tabitha was safe now within immediately proximity of care if she took another bad turn.

She rushed her shower, not even bothering to hair dry it and letting her loose curls fall over her shoulders while she scavenged her room for doable clothing to conceal the various claw marks on her shoulders and back, throwing aside the backless or lace articles she accumulated over the years. She settled for a dark green shirt with oversized sleeves and simple jeans, a modest look for the first day of school but she seriously thought she wasn't even going because of Tabitha's state. After slipping on her muddied Nikes, she grabbed a navy blue sweatshirt from her father's choice of University and snatched another piece of paper from the notepad on the counter, scribbling in more legible script.

_Frank & Trevor_

_Can you please call me in today for school as absent? I'm going to see Tabi. This isn't the first time, you know, that she's been ill. I promise to catch up after school and check in with my teachers. _

_Love, _

_Maddy_

_PS_

_Let's have some enchiladas tonight, for Tabi. I can pick up some extra supplies if we need them. Just text me what you need and I'll pick them up after I talk to my teachers. _

She found her keys in her BMW and accelerated out of the driveway, scavenging for her phone in her vintage satchel in her passenger seat she gathered from the kitchen as a keepsake from her ancestral country. The rustic brown leather still smelled like the untouched woods she had bought it in from a small village outside her family's inherited property. A symbol of a wolf was carved into the front flap, a sign of respect and acknowledgement of her family's strong influence over the territory over the length of history their reign spanned.

When she made it to the hospital, she did not hesitate to barge to the front desk and demand for Tabitha's room number. The shy clerk entered the information into his outdated computer and pointed to the corridor with the instructions of room 118. She nodded and thanked him before heading into the said direction, glancing at every door and its posted number beside it.

Finally, she saw the intended number and the closed door next to it and burst in, closing it behind her to preserve privacy.

"Tabi," she whispered when she saw Tabitha's lonesome figure. In the pale hospital gown, the unusually pale Latina moved her head slightly and smiled at Madison's dark form.

"Hey Mads," she welcomed groggily. "Shouldn't you be at school?" She joked. Madison rolled her eyes and joined Tabitha's side, holding her weakened hand in her stronger one. Tabitha smiled at the assurance and leaned back comfortably.

"Screw school," she retorted lightly with a large grin, hiding back her panic. "Ugh, you look awful. Why didn't you come here earlier?" She pushed back Tabitha's dark hair and gently glided her fingers down Tabitha's sunken cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she apologized genuinely, tenderly rubbing her hand with gentle thumbs.

Tabitha shook her. "I'll be fine. You said it yourself. It gets worse before it gets better. Soon enough I'll be human," Tabitha teased. "_I'll be human, _Madison. No more werewolf issues, no more shifting, and no more family feuding. I mean, not everything will go back to normal but… I won't have to worry about my children's future or hurting anybody." She shrugged and smiled.

_That is if you survive it, _Madison thought to herself but she contained her concern and disguised it under a grin. Tabitha caught wind of the doubt and smiled reassuringly.

"I will get through this," Tabitha promised, tightening her grip around Madison's hand. "I want this so bad and I'm going to see it through. We'll still be best friends. I'll be your Stiles and you'll by my Scott. I could still kick your ass and put you in place," she fantasied. Madison laughed wholesomely.

"I totally doubt that," she retorted lightly, still holding her hand, "but you're still my sister. You protected me when I had my weakest moment and now I'm here for you. Nothing is going to break this bond, I mean it. Not this transition, not even death, but it won't come to that." Madison assured confidently. Their loyalty to each other was the purest she ever experienced and she was sure to treasure it as the most valuable mechanism in the world.

"Let's not get sappy this early in the morning," Tabitha chuckled. "You'll ruin your make-up," she warned, pointing to Madison's mascara and rosy blushed. "So tell me, little Trollop, what did you and the brooding bad-boy accomplish last night? Leave no dirty detail out, Miss. Remember, I almost died a virgin, so I'm living vicariously through you until I can get back on my feet, understand? I live through you, sexual escapades and all. Details," she demanded. Madison laughed loudly and threw her head back.

"We did what any basic… person would do," she generalized with a casual shrug. Tabitha growled what little of her voice could do and glared. "I'm so not okay with me narrating my whole," she waved her hands around mindlessly, not sure what word to input, "…to you."

"I'm not judging," Tabitha implied defensively. "Geez woman, all I'm asking for is a little story. Alright, I'll ask questions, did he use protection?"

Madison groaned. Tabitha laughed at her successful attempt to embarrass her alpha. "Yes, _Tabitha Marcia Reed_, he used protection." Madison pointed.

"Oh," Tabitha teased, "_my full name_, I'm in trouble but I don't care." She laughed.

"You are awful," Madison retorted with a smirk.

"I learned from the best," she remarked with equal play, pointing back at the blond.

"_Oh my God_," Madison exasperated unable to stop laughing herself. Tabitha laughed along and settled back into her cot, enjoying the rising stream of sunlight slipping past the blinders and into her room.

"Was there foreplay involved?" She inquired with a grin. Madison burst out into another fit of hysterical laughter before settling into her chair.

"I don't know," Madison intrigued her with a subtle glimmer of her eyes. Her mouth curved into a smirk. "There might've been a strip tease here and there," she hinted, playing with the hems of her shirt. Tabitha giggled and clapped her hands eagerly. "Let's just say Derek Hale is a very _handy _man," Madison teased, poking Tabitha. Tabitha gasped excitedly.

"Oh my God," she cheerfully repeated like a child. "So did he know what he was doing?"

Madison nodded. "Yes, he did, he had experience, remember? I'm sure he knew all the moves like grabbing the girl in a tight huh, murmur some dirty words in her ear before nibbling on it, coaxing her to get relaxed on the bed."

Tabitha smirked and covered her mouth with her hands with glee as Madison reminisced to the night before, letting her eyes drift dreamily to the left as she pictured the sequence of events all over again.

"And then we settled on the mattress where I," she pointed to herself, "took control. I made it extremely hard for him," Madison shrugged innocently, "because I straddled him and he couldn't flip us around so he would be on top. I wouldn't allow it." She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin in a proud manner.

Tabitha burst out into a fit of light laughter, a sound Madison was relieved to hear again after weeks of hard coughing plagued her best friend. "_'extremely hard'_," Tabitha repeated humorously, "in all literal meanings," she assumed with a sly grin.

"Yes, the pun was intended," Madison explained.

"My girl is a player," Tabitha chided comically, winking at the blushing blonde. Tabitha laughed again and high-fived Madison with a loud slap of palms. "Okay, so, how…uh…big was he?" Tabitha persisted. Madison's perfectly symmetrical eyebrows skyrocketed to her hairline.

"I'm not going to answer that question, I feel like that's too personal and you might use it against him." Madison thought about her words alongside Tabitha's mischievous glint in her unusually bright eyes as a new regenerating energy filled her weak body even just for a moment. "Okay, I'll show you."

Tabitha gaped when Madison demonstrated with distancing her palms apart to display a close-enough sample of the length.

"Really," Tabitha remarked, tilting her, "_for a white boy_?"

"Keep that in mind when you decide it's time to corner Stiles," Madison retorted. Tabitha's brows skyrocketed to her hairline. Madison snickered.

"Speaking of which," Tabitha diverged. "Did it hurt, you know, when he…well…put it in?"

Madison titled her head. "Keep in mind I have high pain tolerance, so no, for _me, _it didn't hurt. It felt weird at first, 'cause, well, you know…lubricate first so it slides in instead of being pushed in, because if it was pushed, God knows how much that would hurt, so when it, uh, well….entered, it was tight and uncomfortable at first because it's a foreign object and the body is going to reject it, but eventually we got comfortable and it wasn't a problem from that point on."

Tabitha nodded along, listening intently. "It might be different with you, depending on if you're strong enough, but with your human status, it will hurt you more than it me, mindless of his size."

"So you get used to it though," Tabitha summarized. Madison nodded.

"So do you think you'll be out of here by tonight?" Madison encouraged. "I was planning on tacos and enchiladas to celebrate our return home." Tabitha smiled brightly and nodded along.

"Definitely," she promised. "How about you do that thing of yours and convince the nurse I'm okay to go," she coaxed, eyeing the glass of their door at the passing figures. Madison giggled and nodded her head along with it. She winked before leaving the room with a finger in the air for a single she'd be back in not too long.

Tabitha reclined back and let her eyes droop. Madison took the opportunity to glance back at her best and was suddenly hit with a distant memory of them in the same positions, with Tabitha resting on the cot while Madison kept her distance, guilt ridden and concerned while her circumstances remained unknown.

_No matter what I do, I'm always to blame when she gets hurt, _she's reminded herself. The vision of a year or so before relapsed into her head, of a younger Tabitha resting beside her family with bandages wrapped around her bloodied frame after a supposed "wolf or dog-related attack." Now, she was slowly desecrating from underneath all because Madison indulged her on some stupid superstition.

She turned to meet a familiar face.

His black curls were pulled back unlike they used to when she last saw him. He looked…grown up, just like she. He matured. His attire was darker, too. Yet, when that boyish grin of his broke out, she was reminded of exactly the boy she accidently fell in love with, brotherly of course.

He, too, noticed some different features about her. She had longer, lighter hair and brighter eyes. Her face was…. Well older, mature, but beautiful and vibrant nonetheless but something about her he couldn't peg bothered him. Maybe her smile was too strained.

"Scott McCall, long time, no see," she teased, grinning. He pulled her into a bone crushing hug and spun her around.

"Oh my God, Madison, it's been forever, where have you've been?" he shot off.

"Long story," she waved off. "Why are you here?" She demanded, pulling him off to the side.

"I'm here to see Isaac," Scott explained. "He was admitted to the hospital last night and he needed to tell me something. What about you?"

Madison made an 'o' with her lips as she realized why Isaac was admitted and looked away for a second to hide it before returning to his intense gaze.

"Tabitha got sick, that's all," she pointed to the door. "She'll be fine. What about Isaac? I'll come with you." She offered, pushing him away. They turned the corridor. "I didn't realize he came here," she added with wandering eyes. "What happened to him?" She played absent-minded. He shrugged.

"I don't know. That's why my mom called me here, so he could tell me. He wanted to tell me personally," Scott narrated before he abruptly stopped. Madison caught his intense gaze and followed it to the elevator where a familiar lay incapacitated in a wheelchair being pushed by an unknown figure. She instantly stiffened as she took in his smell.

"He's an alpha," she whispered to Scott. He nodded and extended her claws, as did she, and they advanced rapidly, Madison faster than Scott due to her natural advantage, surprising the unknown Alpha who was caught in her black widow stare as soon as the doors began to close. Scott swooped in behind her, barely making it in, and crashed to the floor while she stared the Alpha down directly with glowing red eyes.

"_An Alpha_," he growled, baring his canines. They bared theirs in response. He went for her first, clawing at her face but she ducked quickly and spun around him. Scott unfortunately was too slow and was caught in the older man's steel grip. Scott struggled as he was heaved upwards into the light panels and tumbled onto the floor, shaking the outdated elevator. Madison came from behind and dug her claws into his back before ripping her bloodied hand out and wrapping it around his neck and forcing his head downwards. After she subdued him to his knees, she made him look into her glaring red eyes.

"Who are you," he demanded hoarsely. She blinked, erasing the red in her eyes into a stunning electric blue as she grinned.

"Your worst nightmare," she cryptically said while Scott pulled himself up. The new Alpha laughed in her face.

"You, a little girl, my _nightmare_?" he retorted.

"A little girl who managed to incapacitate you," she reminded by squeezing the back of his neck painfully. He clawed at her wrist, "as well as a daughter of a very powerful Alpha, much more powerful than you," she added haughtily. "You might know my grandfather better though. Ask your Alpha who he was," she began as the door slid open. "His name was Edik, Edik Volkov of Uglich, Russia. Perhaps it's time for you to freshen up on your history," she urged arrogantly before tossing him effortlessly out. He slid onto the tile floor before crashing into a wall. He only got one second to look at the stranger before the doors closed in his face.

All he got was her red-to-blue eyes and long silver like strands. She was tall almost coming up to Scott's height as the young Beta gaped behind the powerful presence of a blonde, amazed by her abilities.

"How'd you do that," Scott demanded.

She looked back and grinned. "What do you mean," she retorted lightly. "I could always do that. You just never gave me a reason to show off. Now you do," she said, pressing the elevator button to the next level. "Now if you excuse me, I have a nurse to persuade," she grinned. The doors separated and she stepped out, waving her hand gently in a princess-like-manner accompanied by a glowing smile. Scott was dazed for a second before snapping out.

"Wait, like _Peter-persuade_ when he killed his nurse?" Scott asked in a panic while gripping the handles of Isaac's wheelchair. She shot him a dirty look. She placed her hand on her hip and stuck it out while her foot itched anxiously to move onwards while Scott held her back with his lost puppy-like gaze.

"I may be a sociopath but I'm not _that _psychopathic," she chided, wagging her finger.  
_To-do-loo_," she sang highly, flicking her wrist as the elevator closed.

"What for," he cried out only to be cut off. She snickered before turning forward and walking away with a natural, buoyant stride. She turned the corner and caught a figure fussing over a cart alongside the wall.

"Ah," she cried out when a familiar curly haired brunette came into sight. Madison broke out into a grin. "Just the woman I was looking for," she called out, startling her. The nurse spun around and smiled at the young blond.


	3. Return of the Alphas P3-3 (3x01Tatoo)

"Aubrey-err-Madison, whatever, you want to be called," Melissa exclaimed. "You scared me," she said as the taller blond approached. "Did you get taller since I last saw you?" She asked, taking the girl by the shoulders. Madison shrugged nonchalantly.

"Madison, I guess," Madison submitted, "since it seems everyone else knows," she shrugged." She examined her height by looking at where her eyes met Melissa's only to find they skimmed over her hairline. She was stunned at first but played modest. "Maybe, I don't know," Madison replied. "You certainly don't look a day over thirty," she charmed, earning a grin from Mrs. McCall.

"Twenty three," Melissa bargained. Madison playfully narrowed her eyes.

"Twenty seven," Madison compromised.

Melissa raised a brow. "Twenty five," Melissa bargained again. Madison pursed her lips in thought. If she pushed twenty six, maybe her persuasion attempt would be void. Madison decided so and nodded along.

"Whatever you say, college grad," she granted, elbowing the older woman lightly. Melissa laughed.

"So what are you trying to butter me up for," Melissa accused lightly, smiling along.

"Well, as you know, there are some people in this world who aren't…._human," _Madison whispered the end close to Melissa's ear. Melissa slowly nodded. The two congregated closer to each other as they neared the end of hall to avoid other pedestrians. "Tabitha is one of those special people, as am I, and I think people would notice if she responds differently to human methods of medicine, you get my drift?" Melissa nodded. "So I was hoping maybe you'd get Tabi off that 24 hour observation list and release her early," Madison pleaded with baby blue eyes under fluttering black lashes.

Melissa McCall laughed. "I can see why my son talked about you so much," Melissa said, linking arms and patting her hand. Madison veered back in surprise.

"Scott talked about me? I can't imagine it'd be anything good," Madison replied honestly. Melissa gave her a look. "Hey, what's that for," she demanded, catching Melissa's skeptical eyes. "Honestly, I scared the crap out of him, of Stiles, heck, I terrorized his girlfriend," Madison twisted her words, simplifying them to "mean girl" standards like she assumed Melissa McCall presumed it to be.

"Girls will be girls," Ms. McCall shook off. "You are an attractive young woman whom Scott was infatuated with, and Allison obviously felt threatened. I don't hold anything against her. It's natural to feel jealous within your age group," Melissa narrated. Madison's brows skyrocketed and she abruptly stopped to spin Melissa around. Melissa gawked at Madison's wide eyes and amused dimples that rarely ever showed on her serious face.

In that very moment, unbeknownst to those around her, she looked more like her mother than ever before as he cheeks lit up with a lovely rose blush and her eyes began to sparkle with humor.

"Scott had a crush on me?" She repeated in disbelief. She couldn't stop the grin from widening on her flawless face and Melissa was once again reminded of the gift of beauty bestowed on his humble young woman.

"Scott, Stiles, even Jackson liked you," Melissa said, slapping her shoulder gently. "Do you look in the mirror sometimes?" She asked humbly. Madison laughed.

"All the time, McCall," she replied honestly.

"Well Scott thought you were gorgeous, as you are, and Stiles couldn't stop gushing about the mystery of the blond beauty in the Beacon Hills halls," Melissa said graciously while guiding the tall blond down the corridors.

"You're too much," Madison exclaimed, throwing her head back to resound melodious laughter. "That's probably the beginning of it before the realized what a bitch I am."

"Don't say _that_," Melissa chided seriously. "You are a sweetheart," she assured honestly. "And if you were, I would have heard about it but I didn't."

Madison laughed wholeheartedly all over again. "Oh boy, I'm _so_ going to use this against your son. I hope you know that, right? Little baby-faced McCall had an itty-bitty crush on the New-Girl in town," Madison cooed, earning a giggle from his mother. "I want to hear more about this, so share the details woman," she teased.

In that moment, Madison realized something as she admired the spark in Ms. McCall's doe-brown eyes. Ms. McCall reminded her of her mother in her own way. Sure, the present woman didn't share the full rosy cheeks and thick, smooth, glossy raven hair but they shared similarities.

But another thought intercepted her head suddenly, a clear voice disturbing the soft image of her mother combine with Melissa's image. _Help, please, help, _she cried. Madison stiffened and Melissa noticed the sudden panic in Madison's eyes.

"What's wrong," Melissa wondered with deep concern.

_They're coming for me, please, help me. _

_Where are you? _Madison demanded mentally. "I'm sorry Ms. McCall but I forgot something… Uh, please consider my request, I need to go like right now," she rushed, running away from a bewildered Melissa.

_Damnit, where are you? _Madison cried out mentally as she scrambled for her keys in her pocket. _Tabitha, I'll be back, _she promised, _but she needs my help. _

_Who needs your help? _Tabitha responded.

_The girl from last night, _Madison frantically replied as she burst from the doors, almost running into Derek.

"Why didn't you tell me Isaac was at the hospital," He demanded, grabbing her forearm and pulling her back harshly. She growled as her keys plummeted to the concrete. She glowered at Derek with fierce red eyes.

"Do not start with me Hale or God help me I will rip you to shreds," she growled, pulling his grip off her. "I have to be somewhere immediately. You should be paying attention to your pack, not me," Madison hissed venomously. Derek jerked back as she growled loudly, baring her long canines before retracting them and reclining back to her solid, tall posture. "Then maybe," she retorted with equal bitterness, "I wouldn't have to save Isaac's ass _twice. _First last night and then a few minutes ago," she laughed sourly before pointing him a dark look. "You should have thought about the consequences before searching for trouble because these Alphas mean business and I'm putting my ass on the line trying to save yours. I'm not their Alpha, _you are_, so start acting like it," she scolded harshly before storming off to her car, keys in fist as she resisted the urge to sock him.

_Where the hell are you? _She demanded again, unlocking her car.

Derek watched onward with torn eyes, conflicting emotions of guilt and anger shifting through his green pupils as her toxic words flooded through his conscious and reasoning, eating away at his confidence in one strike of spiteful words. He watched her speed out of the proximity in a rush before he hurried inside to tend to Isaac as she suggested when she insinuated his Alpha duties and his record of failing them.

_The school, _the girl finally replied. She sounded exhausted. _I'm cornered. They're going to kill me, all of them… _she faded off. Madison felt her trembled with fear and her anxiety heightened.

_Don't worry, _Madison assured frantically as she sped towards the school. _I'll get there. I'm coming. I'm on my way. _

_It's too late. _

_No, okay, listen, please, _Madison begged.

_No, you listen, _the girl urged. Time was running out and Madison pressed down on the accelerator, pushing the speedometer past 70 on the vacant road. _They're holding the others at a vault. _

_What vault? _

_Beacon Hills First National Bank, _she said quickly, quivering. Madison felt her pulse race as she sensed the impending doom of the poor girl close in. The time was slipping by second by second. She made a swift turn into the parking lot and parked sloppily in an open back lot before racing out to the large school doors.

_I'm here, _Madison hurried. _I'm here, where are you? _

_The locker room, _she answered. _Oh my God, they're going to kill me. _

_I'm hurrying, _Madison rushed. _I'm coming. Damnit, what's happening? _

She was struck with the final sensation of a burning sensation on her cheek that sent her tumbling to the left, clutching to a locker for support. Suddenly, like a strike of lightening, she knew… _Please, are you still there? Damnit, please… _

No answer.

_Answer me, _she demanded desperately.

There was still no reply from her.

She hauled ass to the lower floor towards the locker room, following the overwhelming scent of werewolves leading to a closed door. She prepared her fangs and claws and walked in bravely, eyes narrowed and red eager for a fight but only found the remnants of blood splattered along the locker. She examined the scene with closer eyes, narrowing at each splatter and determining the direction in which they came from as if to pinpoint positions. She could tell the girl was walled up against the lockers but she didn't have much time else to investigate before the bell rang and people would soon come across it themselves. She bid the location one last sympathetic glance, thinking repetitively "_I'm sorry" _as if it healed anything –when in reality, it didn't. She walked away slowly, coming to terms with her failure.

She pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Scott," she answered as brightly as she could –which didn't muster much. He sensed it on the other end but didn't say anything about it. "How's Isaac? Is he okay?" _At least I could save one, _she thought gratefully as she leaned up against the locker.

"He's asking about a girl, do you have any idea what he could mean?" Scott asked. She heard Isaac's desperate pleas over the phone and groaned in despair.

"She's gone, Scott," Madison honestly said. "Maybe she's alive but I doubt it. There is a lot of blood and not a single body in sight. The Alphas know how to cover their tracks. Tell Isaac I tried the best I could to track them but I came too late."

"What do you mean?" Scott demanded.

"I'll explain later. I'll meet you at Derek's soon," she suggested, canceling the call and placing the phone in her back pocket.

_At least she gave me a clue, _she thought. _Beacon Hills First National Bank… A Vault…People… _She tried to piece it all together but failed, much to her frustration. Who could they be holding that it'd be so important to keep them alive in a vault? Maybe the mysterious girl was in there, too.

* * *

**That's it for my first, opening chapter of the third addition I hope you liked it. :) I have big plans for this story but I'm going along with as close as I can get to the actually story line in an interactive way so it doesn't stray too far. **

**For my lovely followers and readers, as a gift, since in the Future, Madison's family will be brought up -extended and all -if you would like to be a part of it -aka have a relative be named after you -review with your thoughts -_both good or bad, that's the purpose of reviewing -_and your name, or if you want, a name you like that may not necessarily be yours. :) **

**Yes, I made the big leap and had Madison and Derek spend a night together -no I didn't do details -why? A) I'm a Virgin (sigh...) so I don't know necessarily what happens beyond the bedroom doors besides making out, forgive me, and b) you can use your imagination for what escapades happened you dirty little perverts. XD :P I love you nonetheless. **

**Summer is on, Graduation is over as of a week ago, and I have a whole lot more time to dedicate to this story -I'm up to 30 pages alone on this chapter -which I tried via separation so it won't seem to enduring and task like. **

**Hope you enjoy. **

**Reviews are nice and will be rewarded so long you leave a name and_ heck even a description if you want me to specific_. :P**

**3x02 adaption has already been outlined and brainstormed, _I just need to type it out_ -which will take probably another 3-4 days with my perfectionism. Haha, so please bear with me. It'll be worth it, I promise! **

_**I'd also be glad to answer any questions you have via PM and comments but don't expect spoilers; **_

**PS Highly recommend reading the first two of this trilogy so you don't seem lost. I will not recap the whole plot for your sake, no offense. **


	4. Resurrected P1-5 (3x02 Chaos Rising)

_Chapter 2_

_3x02 "Chaos Rising"/ Resurrected Memoirs _

**Part 1**

"Derek," Madison growled. "The least you can do if you are going to call me for a booty call is leave the door open for me," she exclaimed. "I had to pick it," she complained, examining her nails. She winced when she saw a chip in one of them. "I'm rethinking doing any favors for you," she threatened. She closed the door behind her and walked forward into the main area.

Derek came up behind her, aware of the click of her shoe soles and wrapped his arms around her waist. She didn't fight him and was quite attentive to his presence, as his musk was incredibly strong. She let him tug her closer until there was no space between them left. She felt his stubble ticked the side of her face and naturally tilted her head so he could rest his chin on her shoulder.

"You've been hiding things from me," he mumbled against her flesh. She hummed lightly, ambiguous with her response. She placed her smaller hands on his larger ones and leaned back closer. Her hair fell from her shoulder to the side, skimming her bare arms, as she turned her head to face him with a grin.

"Why would you think that," she inquired coyly. He grinned back and spun her around, grabbing her from the arms and tugging her close as ever as he guided her closer to the wall. They walked step-in-step until her back was pressed up against the brick. She was hitched up and he supported her by holding her thighs against his hip, allowing her to straddle him. He freed his hand and used it to caress her hair, curling a strand around his finger.

"Because," he murmured against her soft lips. He almost forgot his speech as her sweet exotic scent filled his nostrils with the most intoxicated scent of tropical flowers but he reminded himself that this was her ploy in the first place. "The Madison I know loathed the idea of me even touching her," he explained. "She would all but tear me to shred even I even suggested this," he demonstrated by raising his hand towards her breast and squeezing lightly. She stiffened. "See, that right there, is what I'm talking about," he explained fervently. He let her go and she landed gracefully on her feet as he walked away. "You caught me off last night but not again," Derek warned when he achieved the appropriate distance. "You women are always the same, using sex against us," Derek accused. Madison rolled her eyes. "Just tell me what you want," Derek demanded. He crossed his arms over her chest and she did the same as she walked farther across the room towards the windows while Derek situated himself at the desk nearby.

"Maybe you aren't as dimwitted as I thought you were," Madison admitted as she adjusted her tunic. "All I want is to help," she said, glancing at him over her shoulder. "You have no clue what you're up against but I do."

"And why would you want to help," he demanded.

"I told you, because if I do you a favor, you owe me one," she explained obviously. He rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same team," she clarified, motioning between them with intercrossing arms.

"So you didn't like me," Derek assumed. Madison groaned.

"Don't," she corrected. "Please, don't tell me you're one of those men who romanticize sex," Madison criticized. "Look, sex is sex, especially for us. We can't afford having emotional ties," she explained. "No offense, Derek, but you have very few purposes for me," she explained. She gathered herself and prepared for the door. "Sex and alliance is about it. Do you really think I'd settle for you as a 'partner' besides physical pleasure? I'm sorry, Derek, really I am, but if you want more, that's pushing it."

"Why is that?" he pressed her. Madison turned around to face him directly.

"I can't afford to care for people," Madison explained coldly, "definitely not now, understand? This –this thing –this alliance benefits us both and we won't have time for romance but sex is a whole different story. We can relieve ourselves of that loneliness but won't be burdened with the constant threat of losing our other half if we ever come across them."

Derek started nodded along slowly, understanding her purpose. "And us," she added, "we won't last even if we were a thing of that sort. You get too emotionally invested into your projects and the people you come across. You make reckless decisions and adopt responsibilities on a whim that you may not be able to keep up with. I, on the other hand, have so many other duties to look after. I can't be sucked into carrying the burden of a loss –that's on you, if your pack gets killed, and I have to look after mine –especially since they killed Cecelia when I was gone. We can't be distracted by romantic ties when we have other obligations to look after, you know what I mean? I see you nodding but do you really understand my words? _Derek, we have too much on our plates as it is," _she pressed into him. She grabbed his arms and shook him lightly.

"I get it," Derek agreed. Madison sighed, relieved.

"Great," she exhaled. "Now, if you want to halt this _deal," _she amplified, referring to their casual bedding, "that's good, too. I can find other sources eager to fill in that void –not to put pressure on you, but you also won't have to worry about complicating things. If you do want to continue this, just give me the word."

He didn't. Instead, he grabbed her neck with both hands and brought her face upwards to him. Isaac from the corned scurried upstairs after catching the drift and closed his door. Derek and Madison continued to kiss, with her wrapping her arm around his neck to hold hers up while he brought her to the bed. He set her down and climbed on top of her smaller body while his hands grazed her body. He tugged on the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head until her flat, muscular stomach was bare and exposed. He skimmed his course fingers down the line of her stomach, making her tremble with anticipation. She did the same and tossed his shirt far across the room and held his face down on hers.

"What did I tell you about that stubble," she whined quietly as he traced his lips on her collarbone, sucking on her soft spot. She let out a soft moan and let her hands drift downwards to his shoulder muscle. She suddenly tightened and arched closer to his body warmth as she felt his jeans slid off. Her fingers curled around his warm muscle and clung on despite the building sweat lining the outer layer. Her leg hitched upwards and straddled his waist, holding him closer while her body began to rise in heat. He sense that and teased her, letting her fingers pull at the hem of her leggings.

"Derek," she hissed in heat, "you know damn well how impatient I am, _damnit._ Stop playing around and…" She drifted off and abruptly exploded in a loud gasp. Her eyes widened.

"Whoa, whoa," she abruptly cut off. She scrambled to a sitting position and pushed him off. Derek reared back in surprised. "Condom, now," she demanded, pointing to the back of the apartment. "Sorry but 'romance' is nothing in the complicated category compared to a baby if we're that unlucky. I'm not taking chances. Go, now," she directed, snapping her fingers. Derek grudgingly got up and walked across the distance. She leaned back and enjoyed the view of his gray-cotton briefs.

_Teen Wolf_

After the hours had passed, Derek once again caught himself stuck in paranoia. Madison's slumbering figure peacefully rested beside him, warm under his comforting while holding his sheet close to her breasts as if to preserve any strand of modest left.

"Madison," he whispered. He noticed she moved slightly, alarmed by the sound of his voice. She felt warmth on her cheek and noticed her forearm under her head while her hand hung loosely over the bed's edge. She stayed still and hitched the sheets higher. Derek extended his harm and used his hand to pull some of her hair away from her face. "Madison," he repeated.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "What's up Derek?" She grumbled.

"Did you mean it, when you said we aren't cut out for romance?"

"You mean us?" Madison asked to elaborate. "I don't think there is a chance _between_ us," she said clearly, "but maybe, somewhere, out there…" she dragged out before stirring some more. "Maybe there are people out there that will accept us. Understanding is one thing –we understand each other –but accepting is another. We can accept each other but that isn't going to validate _anything_. We're still the awful people society rejects. We both see each other as unsalvageable people, so we desire someone unlike us –something relatively _normal_, even, if we can stretch that term far enough, that proves we can be accepted, that we're able to be 'saved,' I guess. Maybe you'll meet a nice woman, someone who had no part of this, and you'll drag her in and you'll resent yourself for it but to be honest, you don't want it any other way because you crave her presence. She'll represent everything you aren't and you'll feel like she'll complete you. Eventually you'll feel like you can't live without her."

"And you, what about you," Derek asked humbly.

"What about me? You mean," Madison grumbled, "what about romance and I? I don't think romance and I would work together. You've seen my family history." She sighed. "Honestly though, if we're bearing our souls out, I just want someone I can trust and depend on but I always second myself. I don't deserve it, and whoever that person is, doesn't deserve it either. I bring death and destruction to those close to me. I can't work as a team because I will resort to myself as the only person I can trust, discrediting them. I don't want to but I do. It's a bad habit I can't get out of. And when I do start trusting someone, I always endanger them and one day they'll end up like the rest, dead. I can't deal with more death, Derek."

"So you're going to deny yourself happiness?" Derek whispered incredulously.

"You do, too, you just don't see it yet," Madison explained. "You put others in front of you –Scott, Stiles… always putting yourself in the line of danger to protect them. You blame yourself for Boyd and Erica's circumstance because you imposed this 'gift' onto them and ultimately their association with you got them in a bigger mess. You feel so much guilt and responsibility for it. You're willing to go to the Earth's end to save them when the chances of them surviving are all but diminished. You're a dreamer, Derek, a foolish dreamer…" she murmured.

Derek heard her breathing fall into an even pace as she exhausted herself back to sleep. He rubbed her shoulder softly and pulled her closed, breathing in her scent. He let his arm hold her tight. He pecked her cheek and let his hand caress her limp one as it clutched the thing, white sheet.

_You're wrong, _he thought. He didn't think she'd hear him in her subconscious slumber. _You're so wrong. You have people to trust. You have a pack and we're more than happy to accept you. If you could only let yourself accept us as your family like we do for you…_

_Teen Wolf_

"Now I'm starting to not like this idea," Isaac began to pace. Madison leaned back and turned her to the other Alpha, more curious of Derek who was preoccupied with the ground as if it was more interesting than Isaac's panic. She smirked. "It sounds kind of dangerous," Isaac continued." Madison chuckled to herself lightly, earning a glare from Derek. She shrugged it off and pulled out her phone, taking note of the time.

"Would you look at that," she chided to herself. "It's almost time for school." She walked to her backpack and heaved it onto her shoulder. "I better get going."

"Just go," Derek exasperated. Madison feigned hurt before reapplying a condescending sneer directed at the aggravated Alpha. "Isaac, you'll be fine," he directed at the opposite direction towards Isaac. The young boy looked away from the bay windows to Derek with heated eyes.

"Does it _have to be him?" _Isaac demanded.

"He knows how to do it, I don't," Derek shot back, not in the least amused with boy's antics. Madison chortled, earning a glare from Derek again. She shrugged and pulled back her wavy hair.

"Why are you laughing," Isaac demanded sternly. Madison pressed the back of her first to her mouth to smother the muffled laughs climbing up her throat but the attempt was futile.

Derek rolled his eyes at the both of them. "Madison knows how to do it, too," Derek mumbled sourly. Madison couldn't help but grin as the remainder of her giggles died out.

"Derek is the only one of the bunch who can't," she chided arrogantly, lifting a brow with ease while the grin remained. He growled at her and she simply smiled in the perfect example of snark she could produce.

"Then why can't you do it," Isaac begged, maneuvering around the table to reach her. She stopped him abruptly with a wagging finger and shaking her head.

"'Cause," she started, "I'm not in _this _pack," she said, motioning to the two of them. Derek shot her a glance with an expression she couldn't comprehend in that quick second of honesty Derek allowed her before he masked his emotion again. "I'm just a...," she dragged on with a sideways glance to Derek, "well what am I, Derek," before he could answer her question, she beat him to it not a second after, pointing to Isaac, "I'm a confidant. I know much more about this werewolf business than you two do so it's only natural I use my knowledge for good and assist you amateurs." Derek growled louder at insult which she reflected back with an equally cold glare.

Isaac's optimistic shoulders fell in defeat and he receded back behind the desk, falling into another sour mood similar to Derek's. "You know what, I _definitely _don't like this idea and I _definitely _don't like him."

"It'd be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself," Derek added towards Isaac who flashed him one more look of hope, officially destroying all strands of positivity in the boy. Madison nodded along in agreement.

"You know Scott doesn't trust him, right," Isaac pleaded, looking towards the doorway in anticipating. Madison followed his gaze with equally worrisome eyes under her long lashes. Derek saw it with a sideways glance and leaned back to get a better look, confused by her sudden hesitation to meet her "childhood" accomplice.

"And personally, I-I trust Scott," Isaac, adding insult to injury on Derek's wounded ego. Madison watched their tense exchange with eager eyes, assessing the situation critically.

"You trust me?" Derek challenged his doubt with harsh eyes. He perked a thick brow at Isaac who receded back to his submissive Beta nature.

"Yeah," he stuttered but Madison caught the uncertainly in his tone and she was certain Derek did do but he didn't address it.

"_I still don't like him," _Isaac repeated more so to himself. Madison rolled her eyes.

"Get over it," she demanded, startling the boy. He quivered in his shoes under her cold, authoritarian eyes. "He'll be here soon. Even after all these months he can't get rid of that stench of his. Reminds me of a freaking hospital," she grumbled disgruntledly, looking over her shoulder to Derek who ignored her hardened gaze.

"Nobody likes him," Derek shot back casually. He titled his head towards her. "Why are _you _here still," Derek riled.

"Easy," she bit back, "I have to drive Isaac to school and second," she lowered her voice suddenly to a harsher tone, "the bastard needs to answer to me for a few questions. He's been _digging _around where he shouldn't be." Derek winced at her unspoken threat but his interest peaked at the possible reasons behind it.

The doors were suddenly pried open and Madison focused on the figure stepping forward with cold, hardened eyes. They tinted a deep ruby red but she restrained her inner urge and they returned to a sapphire blue.

"Boys," a familiar voice greeted, "and girl," it added upon the sight of the blond. She sighed and titled her head while crossing her arms across her chest in an openly annoyed manner. Derek looked up with vexed eyes at the fashionable male strutting into his territory like a plumed peacock. "FYI, coming back from the dead left my abilities somewhat impaired but my hearing still works so I hope you're comfortable saying whatever you are feeling straight to my face," he tested, shooting them all a challenging look, especially to Madison who shot it down with a similar expression of displeasure.

"We don't like you," Derek retorted evenly before slamming the book in his hands. Madison snickered behind Peter who was adjacent to his nephew. Peter glanced back at the bumbling blond leering over the desk for support. "Now shut up and help us," he demanded, standing up to tower the older –and skinner –man. Madison shrugged behind him when he shot her a glance pleading for support.

"Hey, you haven't been innocent, especially since you've been dabbling in my family affairs," she pushed, "but we can address that later," she jeered spitefully. Peter gulped nervously at the malicious glint in her cerulean eyes.

"Fair enough," Peter agreed apprehensively. Derek eyed Madison with distrust but found her eyes murderous and even he himself was too uneasy to ask why.

Both Russian and resurrected post-Alpha extended their claws.

_Teen Wolf_

"Relax, I'll get more out of you when you are calm," Peter assured as he approached Isaac. The kid sat nervously in a chair, Madison behind him as her presence struck him with the urge to stay still, in fear of any wrong doing could be rewarded with physical pain, a common effect she had over those around her –that knew he well enough. Peter levitated around her wearily, eyeing her physique with a new analysis, wondering what advantage she could impose upon him and found only a new height as perhaps an improvement, but he knew better than to underestimate her. Her ability to mentally manipulate was far more advanced than he had seen any others try to accomplish.

"How do you know how to do this again," Isaac jittered apprehensively in his seat, looking around towards Peter whose presence pushed Madison aside, providing significant distance between the two.

"It's an ancient ritual used mostly by Alphas," Peter spoke, examining his claws. Madison eyed him disparagingly. "Since it's a skill involved requires quite a bit of practice," he fell to whisper as he examined the boy's neck with narrowed eyes. Madison rolled hers in disapproval before coming up beside him and grabbing his fingers. Peter looked at her in shock before she placed each nail on the base of Isaac's neck.

"Newbie," she sneered.

"Uh, I'm feeling kind of nervous about this," Isaac cried out, shooting Madison a weary look.

"Peter," she warned to assure Isaac. His eyes momentarily brightened when he assumed she'd take over. "Be careful, one slip and you could paralyze him," Madison explained. Isaac stiffened when he realized she wouldn't assist him. _Or kill him, _Madison thought. Derek shot her a wide eyed looked from the side as she loomed over him from the left, catching the thought through her claw-rooted telepathy from the nights before when she all but plunged them into his wrist. She reflected a sympathetic expression back.

"But you-you had a lot of practice though, right?"

"Well I never paralyzed anyone," Peter said cryptically. Madison growled at him and Peter shot back a disgruntled look of his own at her. He waited one more crucial moment before jamming the claws into his neck, producing an agonizing cry from Isaac's clenched teeth. He struggled to get a grip on Peter's arm but was not able to pry his claws out. Derek widened and about to jolt out of his chair but Madison had him retained with a supportive steel grip on his shoulder while her eyes stared at Isaac's fumbling figure and Peter's cool stature.

Her eyes fastened to his, as his head shook and eyes shifted to a ghostly blue haze in comparison to his darker hazel color.

Both of them struggled and Isaac –in Peter's weak moment –escaped and struggled out of the chair but Peter's claws still remained intact painfully. Derek jolted up.

"Wait," Peter demanded. "I see them."

Peter stuttered on something but both of them couldn't decipher what from the sidelines. Madison grabbed Derek's hand reassuringly and locked it in her grip, coaxing him back to the sidelines before he could intervene.

Madison tensed as the second passed before cringing when Isaac was flung forward after Peter all but pulled out his hand violently from the base of his neck. Madison jumped forward to Isaac and offered a helping hand back onto the seat. She checked his bloodied neck and soothed it with a gentle stroke of her hand.

Isaac looked up, reminded by the gesture of a similar one back at the stock yard. She smiled reassuringly to validate his suspicions. He smiled slightly back and grabbed her forearm as she leaned over him protectively, casting Peter a warning via glare that stirred him to move aside, far from them across the room.

"What'd you see," Derek demanded.

"Uh," Peter struggled hesitantly, reclaiming his voice. He stared at the poorly constructed brick wall while gathering his thoughts. "It was confusing," he fumbled, shaking his head furiously. Madison raised her head and examined his back, trying to decipher his authenticity. "Um-images," he continued, "eh, vague, uh, shapes."

"But you saw something," Derek accused.

"Isaac found them," Peter replied, surprised, much like the rest of them, but Madison detected uncertainly in his voice and question why he was ambiguous with his answer. She said nothing as she continued to rub circles along Isaac's back much like her mother did with her after a tough experience, of course skinning your knee after a bad tricycle accident is nothing in comparisons of having claws gouged into your neck.

"Erica and Boyd," Derek assumed optimistically. Madison narrowed her eyes at her past mentor.

After incoherent stuttering, Peter finally formed some kind of audible response. "Maybe he saw them," he said. The rest of his mumblings was difficult to understand even with Madison's hearing –which she'll admit, wasn't as keen versus her superior sense of smell –but enough so she could hear the honesty in his erratic, panicked heartbeat.

"_But_ _you did see them," _Derek emphasized loudly. Madison could detect the frustration in his voice behind her while Isaac switched glanced between both of them. She sighed heavily and used her free hand to pat down Isaac's curly blond locks. His heartbeat softened under her touch as she dipped down to her hidden maternal nature.

"And worse," Peter mumbled further, disturbing Madison. Derek saw her shoulders lock tensely as she glared at Peter and held Isaac closer to her.

Derek's expression hardened.

"Deucalion," Derek announced harshly. Madison suppressed a growl. Peter glanced at them, taking in the stiff blonde, a relaxed Isaac caught in her tight hold, and an even stiffer Derek who looked like he was about to explode.

"He was talking to them, something about…" Peter dragged on, indefinite, "time running out," he added. Derek's head dipped into his hands in desperation while Isaac let out a quiet gasp. Madison stayed firm and continued to reassure the boy with her solid hands as she held him securely. Her long hair tickled the side of his face as it fell from her shoulders and onto Isaac.

"What does it mean," Isaac asked shakily. He looked at Derek with wide, questioning eyes. Madison followed his gaze with hardened blue orbs that seemed to speak the answers but she refused to move her lips and kept them in a straight, strict line. Derek glanced up at her pleadingly but she only shook her head, as if to say, this was his business and not hers. His pack to secure and command, not hers, and yet, as his eyes trailed lower to her hands gripping Isaac's neck and shoulder, it seemed like she was more intertwined than she let on.

"He's going to kill them," Derek assumed darkly. His face plummeted. Madison nodded along.

"No, no, no, no, no," Peter objected suddenly, surprising Madison. She looked his way as he continued to fumble with words. "He didn't say that," he explained. "He did make them-a-a-promise that by the next full moon they'd be dead."

"The _next full moon," _Derek asked alarmingly, lifting his head. Madison inhaled harshly.

_"Tomorrow night," _Peter simplified. Isaac held onto Madison tighter and she in return laid her chin on top of his curls kindly.

_Teen Wolf _

Madison settled on the desk in the middle of Stiles and Lydia. Both Stiles and Scott shot her confused looks, especially Stiles who constantly glanced at her with his peripheral vision. She smiled at him.

"I like the hair," she whispered, winking. Stiles blushed and looked away but she pursued his embarrassment further and reached over to disturb his dark locks. He flinched and she laughed. Derek glanced at her and shot her a dirty look. She simply shrugged.

"Don't be jealous, _sourwolf_," she taunted, purposely leaning closer to the human and planted a peck on his cheek. Stiles flinched back and looked at her with wide, confused eyes. "Don't worry Stiles, it's nothing personal. I just do it to annoy Derek."

Derek rolled his eyes and ignored the blonde.

"For what," Stiles inquired, rubbing the spot she kissed him on.

"For being rude," she accused with pointed eyes at Derek. Derek growled lightly and glared at her before returning his harsh glare to the two human girls in front of him. _You know exactly why, Derek. _She sent him telepathically. He jeered.

_If you didn't want to come, then don't drive over at 1 in the morning. _

_You said it was important, _she disgruntledly. _I don't consider your male needs as important. _

_And yet you came anyways, _Derek sneered.

Madison mirrored the same expression and crossed her legs. She was glad she was wearing jeans instead of her skirt. Her wedges were unusually tight on her feet and she reached over to adjust the straps while Derek confronted the two other girls verbally.

"I don't see anything," Derek excused crudely, crossing his arms over his chest. Madison titled her head, letting her hair fall to the side like a wispy curtain before jumping off the desk and standing up beside the girls, earning a disgruntled look from Lydia who sneered at the blonde. Madison rewarded the look with one of her own as well as flashing of her sharp canines to remind her who the strawberry blonde was messing with. Lydia backed immediately and returned her harsh look towards Derek.

Derek lobbed a look towards Scott. Madison didn't have to read his mind to decipher his sarcastic expression as _Are-You-Kidding-Me?_ She snickered.

"Look again," Scott pleaded with his usual doe-like eyes. Madison rolled her eyes and glanced at the windows, taking in the early morning light before glancing at the two mirroring markings burned into the girls' forearms, raising a brow.

"How is a bruise," Derek dejected, "going to tell me where Boyd and Erica are?"

Allison delivered the coldest glare she could with her dark brown eyes towards Derek. Madison raised a brow, slightly impressed with the hostility the small girl could produce. Suddenly, Madison remembered the mystery girls' words about a vault at the Beacon Hills First National Bank. Her brows furrowed and she stared at the image critically.

"It's the same, on both sides," Scott argued, "_exactly the same." _

"It's nothing," Derek degraded. He acknowledged Madison's focused eyes.

_What is it? _He asked.

_Like you said, it's nothing. _She said quickly. She covered her expression with a neutral one and forced herself to look away.

"Pareidolia," Lydia spoke out, much like the condescending flair Madison was known for. Derek gave the two a comparing look, firing Madison an amused grin before all traces of it vanished when he scanned Lydia and a resentful Allison. "Seeing patterns that aren't there," she explained. "It's a subset of apophenia," she cried out when catching their confused looks –aside from Madison who's knowledgeable expression suggested she understood Lydia's point.

"They're trying to help," Scott insisted, pleading to Derek directly. Madison took the opportunity of Derek's distraction and glanced at the wound one more time, grabbing Lydia's arm quickly and tracing it with her fingers. Lydia winced and tried to pull out of her grip but couldn't. Madison effectively let out as soon as Derek threw off Scott.

"These two," Derek cynically began, nodding towards the two girls. "This one," he pointed to Lydia. Madison nudged her behind, confusing Lydia before she returned to Derek's sardonic gaze with an evenly set of mordant eyes of her own. "Who used me," he continued, "to resurrect my psychotic uncle," he affronted. "Thank you," he sarcastically added. Madison snickered at Lydia's offended expression before turning to Allison who was Derek's new verbal target.

"And this one," he introduced derisively, "who shot about thirty arrows into me and my pack," he added. Madison stuck a hand in the air, sidetracking Allison who threw her a heated look for her lack of support.

"You shot my beta in the back," Madison added. "Don't forget your father and his sister all but obliterated my family," she supplied, adding sting to the burn. Derek smirked, content with Madison's loyalty. "Being a psychopath kind of runs in the family I suppose," Madison finished happily before receding back to her place beside Lydia.

"Says the girl whose mission was to kill me," Allison countered irately.

"But why should I impose so much effort into that when there are so many people –including your own family –who'd do it for me for their personal agenda," she bit back. Allison stiffened. "Did I hit a nerve? Aw," Madison mocked. "I would say I'm sorry but then I'd be lying."

"Girls," Scott demanded. Allison looked up at him gratefully while Madison looked unashamed. "We don't need this."

"Okay, alright," Stiles intervened. "Come on," he coaxed, "no one died, alight? Look, maybe a little maiming, okay, a little mangling, but no death! That's what I call an important distinction," Stiles motioned with a strong arm flick. Derek turned full body and glared at the cheeky kid while Madison sniggered.

"Actually," she corrected, earning a glower from the honey eyed boy. "Plenty people died, like Gerard, a hunter, the mechanic whatever his name is, Matt, and…" She continued, counting on her fingers.

"_Shut up," _Stiles demanded. "I get it, God."

"My mother died," Allison whispered darkly, glaring at Derek with all the bitterness she could muster.

"That, too," Madison yipped.

"Your family's honor code killed your mother," Derek opposed sternly, "not me."

"She died by suicide," Madison intervened. "So she killed herself," she pointed out. "If she would have accepted the bite, she would have lived –and very well, may I add. Faster, stronger," Madison suggested. Allison glowered at Madison but she didn't even acknowledge it. "But she took the cowards' way out."

"Did you come here all the way just to torment me," Allison seethed at Madison.

Madison feigned a pondering moment, tapping her finger on her chin. "No, I came back here for other reasons but tantalizing you is a highlight," Madison replied casually.

"The girl was looking for Scott," Allison diverted, ignoring the blonde completely, and faced Derek again. "I'm here to help him, not you," Allison sneered. Madison was slightly impressed with her composition but didn't give her much credit and instead looked to Derek's expression for amusement.

"Want to help," Derek snapped challengingly, "find something real," he ordered.

Derek shot Madison a look –one even she couldn't decipher –and she could only assume he was beyond done with this 'foolishness.'

_You know, _she began, pushing past Lydia to get to Derek who had turned his back to them in an attempt to distance himself. _We're telepathically connected for a reason. If you have to say something, say it, don't give me a look. _

_I thought you were supposed to be a genius, _Derek retorted with narrowed eyes as he spun around. Scott had joined him.

_Whoa, _Madison retorted with an apprehensive look. _What do you mean? _

_I mean, you know something –I saw it –a glimpse of it, whatever it is, a memory, and you shut me out before I could get further insight, _he demanded with a harsh look directly at her. She tilted her head in feigned confusion. _You're hiding something and if you want to hide it, I'll hide whatever I'm thinking until we can trust each other. _

_You're being childish, _she demanded with a glare. Scott looked strangely between them, reading their furious expressions but unable to input words. "Guys…" he began shyly. Madison shook her head and spun around to leave the room, deciding to keep her pride rather than degrade herself further. "Just give her a chance," Scott begged, focusing more on Allison but Derek confused the 'her' as Madison and jumped on a rant.

"She needs to trust us," he pointed, purposely giving her a grave expression. Her eyes narrowed.

_Not this again Derek, we talked about this. You and I- _she started

"You are always putting yourself first and I can't afford that. We need to trust each other and we don't. " Derek snarled. Madison threw her hands up in the air in defeat, disgruntled with his frustration and stepped out the door when she heard this and she all but whirled around in a fury, eyes blaring red.

"If you really want to put it out there_," _she exclaimed loudly. She extended her claws threatening before she reminded herself to calm down. After a moment she sighed and returned to her polished self and reverted back towards the door. "Fine, Mr. Alpha," she retorted, "if that's what do you want me to do. I'll wait around for your 'genius' plan and add a few more names to the casualty list waiting around to get your shit together." she snarled, slamming the door behind her.

Stiles looked at them bewildered and then turned to Lydia who was equally confused. Scott reared back in surprised before readdressing his original claim.

"They're on our side now," the Beta pressed.

Derek looked towards Allison and Lydia before glaring back down at Scott. "Well maybe," he scathed, "you should tell her what her mother was actually trying to do that night." Derek left with the final ultimatum, slamming the side door in the similar manner as Madison only a minute before.

"Are all Alphas dramatic or just Sourwolf and Barbie?" Stiles tried to joke, clapping his hands in a concluding manner before hopping off his desk. Scott sighed heavily.


	5. Resurrected P2-5 (3x02 Chaos Rising)

**PART 2**

_Teen Wolf_

_3x02 "Chaos Rising"/Resurrected _

As Madison retrieved her various notebooks for the next segments of class, an unusual scent caught her drift. Her icy eyes wandered to the crowd, scanning the innumerable faces wandering along the halls thoughtlessly before a pair of sharp-angled faces caught her eye. She recognized them from the night before only they didn't recognize her. They caught her intense stare and she quickly recovered with a coy smile. They excused her as another admiring fan before continuing their way to whatever destination they had in mind.

She slammed her locker and went the opposite direction, binder in her clutched tightly in red nails.

Her next class was nearby and she squeezed though the hoard of students easily in the thin archway and took a seat second to front. She planted all her materials in a neat arrangement and smiled at Mr. Finstock eagerly.

"Lundgren," he pointed brightly, slapping a hand on her desk. "You look set," he observed, eyeing her thick college rule notebook and various multi-colored pens. "I expect you to be just as good of a student as you were last year. McCall," Finstock ordered, catching the dark haired boy slip in sheepishly "Meet my favorite calculus student, Aubrey. Aubrey, meet my star player, Scott McCall. I want you to sit next to her. She'll make sure you pass this class."

Madison grinned. "We're very well acquainted, Mr. Finstock. I'd be more than happy to tutor if he needs it," she shot him a smirk and Scott gulped nervously at her possible insinuation. "But," she countered, "I'm afraid I'll be a little distracted if he does sit next to me. I hope you don't mind," she politely declined.

Mr. Finstock nodded disappointedly. "I wouldn't want to jeopardize my prized student," he respected. He patted Scott on the back roughly, guiding him down the row. "Sit down McCall. Aubrey, would you mind giving him a copy of your notes?"

"Of course, Mr. Finstock," she smiled sweetly, opening her notebook and pulling out an extra page, titling both.

"This is why you're my favorite," he commented, patting her smooth head of hair. Her sneered for a second when he ruffled her perfect banes and dedicated a few second to smooth them out again and pushed them to the side.

"The stock market," the teacher began as he slapped the book in his hands onto the table with a loud thud, "is based on two principles." He held up two fingers. Madison raised her hand, anxious to answer. Mr. Finstock motioned her to put them down and she did so unhappily. "What are they?"

Madison jeered back with a sour mouth, mouthing incoherent-but-obvious-angry words. She raised her hands mid-air to stress a confuse gesture. Mr. Finstock glanced at her. "We know **_you know _**the answer," he explained, "anyone else?"

**_Stock_**_- 2 principles: __"Risk & Reward"_

She scripted neatly in black on her paper.

Scott raised his hand behind her down a few desks in the next row.

"Yes McCall, you may go to the bathroom," the teacher excused, "anybody else," he offered again to the class.

"Uh, no, Coach, I know the answer," McCall corrected.

Madison looked over her red striped shoulder in surprised, mimicking an expression much like Mr. Finstock sported on his own face.

In his typical fashion, Mr. Finstock let out an airy laugh before bursting out in loud chuckled. Madison tried to hide a smirk but couldn't so she concealed it behind her hand and dipped her head low. Stiles caught her low laughter behind her and leaned back, not surprised by her inaudible laughter. He pulled back on her long pony tail, surprising her and she spun around with a stunned expression on her rosy face. Stiles lifted his palms up in defense. She glared at him and reached over to smack him on the head. His head flung to the side but he caught himself and glared back at her.

The loud sound of the flesh-against-flesh smack stunned the classroom and even the teacher himself who intercepted the two.

"Whoa, whoa," he coaxed, keeping the two apart with his hands. "What happened here," he demanded shortly.

"He pulled my pony tail," she accused, "so I smacked him back." She glared at him and smirked when she saw the red handprint rising from his pale forehead.

"Stilinski," Mr. Finstock demanded. "That's not how you flirt with a girl," he said. He soothed down her hair. She slapped his hands lightly.

"People, stop touching my hair," she whined as she retrieved her long pony tail and pulled it over her shoulder to keep it closed. Mr. Finstock distanced his hands and readdressed the bewildered Stiles.

"Plus, she's _so_ out of your league," the teacher added before turning to McCall. Stiles groaned while the class snickered. Madison flashed him one last haughty look and turned to his best friend with an amused expression.

"So about that answer," the coach spoke, "you're serious," he inquired skeptically.

"Yeah," Scott stuttered at first. Madison watched intently. "It's risk and reward." Madison jeered back in authentic surprise but she couldn't stop the growing smile on her face.

"Wow," Mr. Finstock exclaimed loudly. Madison with her heightened hearing winced at the sudden irritation. "Who are you," he jested, gesturing with his hands, "and what have you done with McCall?" Scott smiled happily. Madison was equally proud of his accomplishment. "Don't answer that," the teacher demanded, planting his hands on Scott's desk. "I like you better, I like you better…" he fell to murmur while pointing at McCall. "Does anyone have a quarter?" Mr. Finstock asked out loud. Madison saw Stiles fumble with his pocket behind her with her peripheral vision and leered back to see what he was doing.

A sudden flip of something startled her as it flew upwards almost near her head from Stiles' grip. She flinched backwards to avoid it as it fell to her feet under his desk. She vaguely saw it until he fell flat on the floor, revealing XXL Condom on the surface in bright bold yellow letters. Her eyebrows skyrocketed. She glanced back at Stiles who couldn't have been more mortified in his entire life.

"Stilinski, I think you uh…" the teacher veered off as he dipped down to pick it up.

Stiles mumbled something but Madison was too focused on the little plastic in the teachers hand as it handed it back to Stiles.

"Dropped this," Mr. Finstock finished awkwardly, "and congratulations," he added with a proud grin. He looked at Madison and patted her shoulder.

"I'd reconsider that one," he hinted. Madison gaped and glanced back at Stiles –whose face was still frozen with his traumatized expression. She stuttered for a short response but settled with silence as the coach moved on forward.

"Risk and reward," the coach began with his lecture again. "Put the quarter in the mug," he directed, "win the reward," he explained with the gesture of the mug on the table. "Okay, watch coach," he eyed Danny. Madison eyed the quarter in the teacher's hand critically and then the distance located between that and the mug. Her brows furrowed as she did the mental calculations and movement predictions. The 'coach,' as the boys knew him as, blew on the quarter before tossing it on the ground where it bounced into the cup. The class erupted in claps as the coach exclaimed in a short victory. "That's how you _do it," _he cried out.

"Okay Danny," he handed the coin to the student up front, "risk or reward?"

"What's the reward," Danny inquired.

The coach shrugged. "You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow," the coach revealed. Madison groaned.

"Coach," Danny began, leaning forward. "It's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it," he explained. Madison giggled.

"Danny, I really expect more from you at this point," he sassed back. Madison giggled some more, louder but loud enough for the whole class to hear.

"Aubrey," he called out, weaving to her. He placed the quarter on her paper and glanced at her notes –smiled approvingly –and asked her a similar question, "risk or reward?"

She grinned, knowing she'd take it. "What's the risk?" She probed. The teacher met her challenging eyes and played along.

"Risk…" he played along, "you have to move next to McCall."

"So I'd have to switch seats with Stiles," she assumed. The Coach nodded. She got up, quarter in hand. "I'll do it," she accepted. The coach clapped excitedly.

"We got ourselves a daredevil, don't we," he exclaimed as she stood up and tossed the coin upwards. The arch allowed it to travel high before it descended into the cup, circling within in for a moment before falling flat. The coach cheered in elation. They shared a thundering high-fived. "You never disappoint me, Lundgren," he congratulated. She smiled arrogantly while returning to her seat.

"McCall, your turn," he turned to Scott and slapped the coin down, "risk or reward? The risk: if you don't that quarter in the mug, you have to take the pop-the quiz," he corrected, and-_and _you have to write an essay." He explained. "Risk: _more work, _reward?" he blew on his fingers as if there was imaginary dust in his grasp. "No work at all, _or _chose not to play," he offered.

"But isn't this just chance?" Scott asked.

"No," the coach answered. "You know your abilities, your coordination, focus, past experiments, _all factors affecting the outcome," _he underscored. "So what's it going to be, McCall? More work? No work? Or," the coach repeated, "chose not to play?"

Scott put the quarter down. The coach sighed. "No play," he announced. He patted Madison on the shoulder. "You really set a high standard, Lundgren," he voiced. "Okay," he shouted, "who's next? Who wants the quarter?"

The rhythm of hand pats on a textbook surface behind alerted Madison to Stiles who was all but willing. "There you go! There's a gambling man," the coach bellowed, handing him a quarter on his way. She patted Stiles roughly on the back as he passed her, making him stumble along the way. He shot her a cold look. She shrugged and winked. "Enough flirting you two," Mr. Finstock ordered, pointing at the pair. "Come on, step up," he coaxed eagerly, "step up. Alright, Stilinski," he clapped along. Madison watched at the excited boy bounced, weighing the coin in his hand. The door opening caught her attention and suited men waited outside, one of them particularly catching her attention.

"Stiles," Sheriff Stilinski called out.

"Coach, I got it," Stiles answered, unaware of the source of the voice in his deep focus.

"_Stiles," _his dad repeated. Stiles looked up suddenly, a new expression of dread on his face. Madison eyed the Sheriff directly and the older man caught her stare. He fingered her forward. "Aubrey," he added, "I need to see you to. Stiles, come first," he ordered, "and I'll get you next."

She exhaled heavily as Stiles followed his father out. Scott looked at Madison with a new set of suspicious eyes much like the rest of the class while she leaned back in discomfort.

"What was that about," Mr. Finstock inquired. She shrugged in response.

"Probably about my dad," she murmured.

"Which one," he asked further.

"The dead one," she whispered. Scott's eyes softened as he caught the devastation in her expression while the teacher patted her back reassuringly in an odd moment of compassion and gave her space. Scott extended a hand but she refused it. "I'm fine," she said coldly to the Beta.

_"I couldn't find her," _she heard Stiles exclaim on the other side of the door. _"I figured she hooked up with her other friends. Has no one really seen since last night?" _

_"We put of an APB but, uh, Stiles, all her friends say you're the last person who saw her," _his father replied seriously.

_"Me," _Stiles replied incredulously.

_"We all think it's just a series of bad decisions based on too much to drink, but if you remember anything else, you call me." _

_"Alright," _Stiles complied.

She heard the door open just as Danny succeeded in throwing the coin into the mug. "Aubrey," the sheriff ordered forward. She gathered her notebook and pens and slid them into her satchel, slinging it on her shoulder and walking to the door where Sheriff Stilinski closed it behind her after Stiles walked in. "I just wanted to update you on your father," he introduced. "I've been keeping your uncles updated but since you've been gone, I couldn't have kept you updated in a long while. How have you been first of all?"

"I've been…good," she settled with. "I was just visiting some old family in Russia. So what about my father? Have you found him?" She fired off. The sheriff shook his head.

"There is no clue of whom or why he'd be dug up or any sign of his body anywhere," the sheriff explained. "I'm sorry, Madison." She cringed at the name. "I'm just doing a recap… do you remember anything else about that night?"

"Which one, the fire or the night bastards dug him up?" she suggested coldly.

"The fire," he cleared up. She bit her bottom lip in contemplation.

"I remember a few things but… I'm older now, I'm not reliable and the people who did it…it's complicated," she settled with. "I will say since she's dead Kate was involved. She's the one that started the Hale fire and she certainly instigated my mother's death. I had someone help me bring up repressed memories, and the illusion of hiding the whole time was just my subconscious trying to black out the brutality of it –no four year old needs to see her mother stabbed over and over again," she admitted shakily. The sheriff looked down at her sympathetically. "I don't know the motive –I can only assume –but I do know it was a normal day and suddenly Kate Argent barges in and stabbed my mother in the back. They struggled, fought, and after my mom gave up and died right then and there on the floor of massive blood loss –there was lots of it –she came after me only to held back by someone –someone…" she struggled for words. "I don't know who –probably one of her brainwashed accomplices but they held her back, probably reminded that a killing a child is a new level of evil, if traumatizing one isn't bad enough. My dad burst in and then it's blank again," she narrated. "That's all I can provide right now, Mr. Stilinski. I'm sorry it won't help much."

"Do you have any idea –even the slightest –for motive?"

"When has Kate ever needed reason? She killed on whim," Madison seethed. "She was a psychopath through and through."

_Teen Wolf _

Madison enjoyed her free hour in the library separating herself in a corner surrounded by her various notes and Mac computer, taking time to copy time on her writing document. She typed furiously in a strict format, constantly shifting from notebook to computer screen. She noticed that same stench come across her and looked up to see the same exact twins from before, eyeing her like a piece of blood dripping meat on a hook. She glared at them quickly before feigning a smile and waving at them. They waved back coyly before eyeing the table opposite of her where the familiar female pair of brunette and redhead discussed homework and other topics amongst coffee. Madison contemplating intervening and imposing her presence on the table but decided otherwise, reserving herself. She continued to type, and decided some music on her iPhone might be of use and plugged in some earphones to her favorite Bon Jovi music, pulled back to the memory of her father in the garage fixing up a 50's Cadillac –a simple memory that she held close due to it being the only one she can vividly remember that didn't have any association with pain, blood, or fire. Sloane loved typical late 70's-90's music.

She was disturbed by Allison when she spotted the brunette making her way towards the blonde. Madison pulled out on earphone and composed an expression to match her emotion: annoyed. She sighed with Allison sat down with a sketch in her hand and pushed it towards Madison.

Madison looked at it and then at the arm Allison extended. "You sketched half of your bruise," Madison acknowledged, feigning confusion, "and you are showing this to me why?"

"You know something," Allison accused. Madison glanced behind to where Lydia was talking one of the twins. Madison narrowed her eyes and Allison followed her gaze and assumed Madison was glaring at the red-head but when the other twin moved, so did Madison's eyes but Allison didn't catch that and stuck to her original assumption. "I saw you grab Lydia's arm more than twice and Derek suspected something and as much as I hate him, I know he is usually right, add to that my suspicions about you, and I'm 100% that something is up. You're hiding something and I want to know what."

Madison leaned back, amused, and closed the lid of her computer.

"For what," Madison implied. "Maybe I am 'hiding' something but what entitles you to know it," she challenged. Allison seethed under her rosy cheeks. "Isn't this fair game, or are you all believing this delusion that we supposedly are working together? Last time I check, even though I'm not trying to kill you, I don't necessarily want to help you and I shouldn't be obligated to."

"You're a real bitch, you know that?" Allison snarled.

"So are you," Madison retorted, "but that insult doesn't hurt me as much as you wish it would. I've been called worse, _done worse_, and a little human like you isn't going to make me bend backwards. Derek was right –like you said –I'm here for a personal agenda and if its parallel to his, then might as well help him out because the strength in numbers but I'm perfectly fine on my own. You on the other hand are so dependent on others to get something accomplished because you don't have the advantages _we do_. Don't try to think you have something on me because you don't," she explained coolly.

"I'll prove it myself," Allison insisted. "I know this is worth something and so do you. Why aren't you going to help me or Boyd and Erica?" Allison asserted. Madison rolled her eyes. "Scott needs help and what you know might help him."

"Because why do I care if Scott is devastated?" Madison argued. "The kid means nothing to me but I have to keep him alive. He's worth something to someone and I can use that to my advantage in another circumstance."

"Are you really that cold?" Allison raged. "You don't care about Scott? You don't about anyone, do you? You are here for your own selfish reasons and you don't care if people die."

"Allison," she burned into her with scorching red eyes, "here's a little life lesson for you. You look out for yourself, _always_. The further you embed yourself into this suicide mission, the worst you'll come out of it –if you come out of it at all, but fine, if you want to go on a suicide mission and get everyone killed, great, but I'm not going to allow it."

"You just contradicted yourself," Allison noticed, catching Madison's cold words. "You said you don't care about them and yet you are concerned about getting them killed. Why should you care about their safety if they mean nothing to you?" Allison titled her head in confusion. Madison inhaled sharply.

"Allison," she warned, "you're somewhat smart. Instead of asking obvious questions, do something about it. I'm not Wikipedia. Go to another source." She ordered as she began to pack up her stuff. "If you don't mind, I need to do some real work."

"I can't do anything about it until you tell me what you know," Allison demanded. Madison sized her up.

"I don't owe you a thing," Madison fumed. She slid her laptop into her carrier and the rest into the backpack resting on her chair.

"Are you just not telling me out of spite?" Allison continued. "_How juvenile_," she sneered as she followed Madison behind the bookshelf. Allison was caught by surprised when she found herself suddenly in the steel grip of Madison's. Her clawed hand wrapped around her throat and heaved her up against the bookcase. She choked as Madison squeezed.

"Don't be stupid," Madison sneered. "I'm not someone that should be provoked. Like you said, 'I don't care about anyone' and I won't regret eliminating you from the equation, do you understand?" Allison nodded furiously as much as she could as she clawed at Madison's hand. Madison's icy eyes burned into Allison's frighteningly. "I have my reasons for not telling you and they're good ones," Madison explained, "but I don't have to explain it to you. You'll thank me later when you're alive." She dropped Allison on the floor with a thud and picked her up by her forearm, heaving her upwards at a sharp angle. Allison cried out painfully.

"If the Alphas don't kill you first, remind me to snap your neck afterwards for being a pain in the ass," Madison hissed. She straightened Allison to stand up and wiped down the dust on her shirt. She smiled sarcastically before strutting off, passing one of the Alphas purposely, skimming passed Danny to mention a quick comment. Both boys looked at her kindly, acknowledging her and nodded along. She bid them one more smile and waved goodbye.

She shot Allison one more harsh look, blaring red, before slipping out right as the bell rang. Allison massaged her sore arm as Lydia rejoined her.

"What happened," Lydia demanded. She caught the hand prints bruised onto Allison's pale flesh and noticed similar purple prints on her neck. "Did Madison do that to you?" She exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Allison replied soberly. "I'm not surprised." She added. "The bitch is worse than Erica. She's actually lethal," Allison breathed out shakily. True fear passed through her eyes as she was brought back to the time Madison had all but rendered her unconscious with her claws and haunted her with gruesome images. "She might just give the damn Alphas a run for their money."

_Teen Wolf_

"Derek," Tabitha began. Derek held onto the phone tightly as she spoke on the other side. Madison had locked her within the safety of the gates of her home, thus condemning Derek to simply phone calls for the only way of communication. "There is _n_o _way _to figure out what she's thinking unless you share some kind of mental link."

"We _have_ a mental link," he bellowed. "She won't let me in."

"You think she'd let me in?" Tabitha retorted. "Each link is different. She can share a link with me, and you can't intercept that. You two share a link and I can't intercept it. It's like each link is guarded by impenetrable walls much like the Great Wall of China. She can close off her thoughts and you can close yours off, too, only I guess you haven't figured that part out. It's a last resort mechanism if you guys get too far apart," she explained.

"But is there any alternative to figure out what she knows?" Derek pleaded.

"No," Tabitha said curtly. "That's the closest way you can and if she shuts you out, you are out of luck. I've known Madison for much longer than you and she and I have confided in each other things no one else has. I know her better than anyone and let me tell you, _everything_ you need to know is in her head. Her brain is by far the best weapon one can have, with so many secrets and tactics. I bet if you dissected it, you'd discover the secret of life," she joked. "She does not risk ever writing it down in anything. She does not leave a paper trail. Stiles and I got a lucky break that one time she left an address in her GPS but that's about it. Sorry about your luck," she bid before cutting the call. Derek growled and contemplated calling Madison but she ignored his previous two calls and decided he was better without her.

_Teen Wolf_

Madison intercepted Derek at Dr. Deaton's animal clinic. He caught her lone figure leaning against her white BMW. She had changed clothes to a comfortable set of dark jeans, clean neon green shoes and blue sweatshirt. She seemed underdressed compared to her usual manner and her hair was no exception, pulled up in a loose pony tail with banes on either side framing her pale face.

"How'd you know we'd be here," Derek demanded as she approached him.

"Isaac called," she told, "using Scott's phone. He wants me there." She shrugged. "Might as well support the poor boy with what he's about to endure."

"How'd you know what it's like?" Derek demanded once they were past the doors. He trailed her closely as she maneuvered around the desk.

"I went through it myself," she replied casually without sparing him a glance. "It's one hell of an ordeal," she added.


	6. Resurrected P3-5 (3x02 Chaos Rising)

**PART 3**

_Teen Wolf_

_3x02 "Chaos Rising" / Resurrected _

Madison winced as a splatter of cold water hit her exposed arm. _That's really cold, _she thought. Derek shot her an annoyed look.

_That's how it's supposed to be, _he retorted. _Deaton said so. That's the only way it will work. _

_I feel sorry for the poor kid, _she thought back while glancing at Isaac who was discussing with Dr. Deaton. Isaac caught her sympathetic glance and nodded, grateful for her compassion.

_I don't get it, _Derek mused. _Why are you so motherly to Isaac and yet you're more than eager to slice us to pieces? What's so different about Isaac? _He stared at her intensely. Madison didn't shake off his glare as he unloaded another bag of ice. Scott caught their glanced and moved aside, disturbed by the intensity of their gazes.

_He just needs some TLC, _Madison replied. _The kid went through so much…you guys overwork him and neglect his emotional needs. _

Derek rolled his eyes. _That's rich, that's so fucking rich. Madison, the infamous psychopath, concerned about meeting someone's emotional needs. Don't make me laugh. _

_I'm not, _she retorted, _but I will make you cry like a little bitch if you continued this mockery. I swear I will enjoy every minute of you crying out in pain and agony as I pull out your intestines. _She sent him a murderous look as she reached over for a scalpel from the side and pointed it at him. "I mean it, asshole."

He raised his hands in surrender. "You just proved my point but whatever, Barbie." Suddenly in a swift flick she sent it forward and it lodged into his shoulder. He cried out and grabbed the small metal device and pulled it out in a violent tear.

"Call me Barbie one more time and I swear," she threatened. Derek looked from her to his bloodied shoulder. She raised a brow. "I've done worse and you know it." He slowly nodded along understandingly and winced when he reached for another bag. Scott was speechless between them and distanced himself from Madison and stepped closer to Derek on his side. Madison didn't mind and tended to her own side as she gathered the empty bags in a pile and discarded them.

"Obviously it's not going to be particularly…" Dr. Deaton searched for words, "comfortable, but if we slow your heart rate down enough you'll slip into a trance like state." He explained to Isaac. Madison nodded along, pulled back to her own experience in the freezing water but instead of a metal tub she had to deal with the guck of mud and weeds of the cold, frigid Russian lake.

"Like," Isaac compared, "being hypnotized?"

"Exactly," Dr. Deaton agreed. They walked towards the tub slowly. "You'll be half transformed," he continued, maneuvering around the tub. "It will allow us to access your subconscious mind." Isaac kneeled down to the tub. His eyes focused on the iced surface and cringed. Madison looked down at him and assured him with deep blue eyes.

"How slow does his heart rate have to be?" Scott asked.

"Very slow," Dr. Deaton explained.

"Well how slow is very slow?" Derek added, glancing down at the water. Madison shook her head.

"Borderline dead," she announced, rolling her eyes. "You're submerged in freezing cold water. You'll shock into hypothermia. The body can't handle that." Dr. Deaton nodded but was taken aback by her knowledge.

"You've heard of this?" He asked her. He only met the infamous Madison once –and he hadn't even seen her. He only heard about her through Derek's subconscious mutterings. In the flesh he could see why he was taken with the pretty young thing, aside from her borderline violent tendencies. She was tall, too, with imposing blue eyes and proud stature that granted a certain respectable presence. He knew right away she was an Alpha but wondered how.

"I did it, once, to retrieve some childhood memories I forgot," she explained. "My aunt Ana guided me through it with the aid of her daughter –my cousin –but…" she glanced at Isaac, "as predicted, it wasn't quite _comfortable _as I hoped, especially when I'm all but submerged in a cold mountainous lake in the middle of the night."

A splash of water alerted Madison who watched Isaac's hand retract from the surface violently. He granted the water a weary look before raising his head up at them. "It's safe though, right?" Isaac inquired from both Doctor and Alpha, especially Madison.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" He looked down at the boy with quizzical eyes.

"No, no," Isaac rejected, "not really." He crossed his arms over the tub linings in a nervous habit.

"You'll be fine," Madison assured, rubbing his shoulder from across. "I got you, okay?" He smiled appreciatively at her. She smiled back. "Stiles, what the hell are you doing?" She growled when she looked back at the muffled sounds behind her. She caught a long glove over his arm and she rolled her eyes. "That's disgusting, put that back," she ordered. Derek raised an inquisitive brow. Stiles glared at both of them as he pulled it off and tossed it in the trash nearby to join her side. Derek had somehow maneuvered around the tub closer to her, trading places with Scott who was now closer to Isaac as he peered worriedly into the freezing water.

"Look if it feels too risky, you don't have to do this," Derek offered. Madison looked at him crossly from the side but he ignored the burn of her stare. She turned back to Isaac and smiled reassuringly.

As if to answer, Isaac began to tug his V-neck off. She sighed and held out her hand to grab the shirt. She wrapped it around her waist as he stepped into the tub hesitantly. She felt some specks of water splash onto her lower half as the water rose with the new weight inside the tub. He began to breathe in a panic as the cold stung him. She leaned forward and held his shoulder, Derek and Scott joining her instantly. Deaton looked at her strangely from the side –a look she didn't catch as she was too preoccupied with Isaac. Deaton was surprised by her leadership and made a note to examine her later for any clues to her origins.

"Okay, now push," she directed. With a show of strength, she pushed him under, aided by Derek and Scott. As soon as his body was submerged under the layer of ice, he struggled violently like anybody in panic would. Water sprawled everywhere and she felt her shoes get soaked in the sudden wave but ignored the mild cold on her feet as she stayed focused on Isaac. He rose up in a supreme moment of strength and burst through the surface, teeth and claws bare but she pushed him back under. Stiles struggled across from her, being the weakest of the group and slipped in the water pouring under his feet.

"Hold him," Deaton ordered.

"We're trying," Derek hollered back.

"Заткнись! _(z-uh-k-ha-knee-s-)_" she exclaimed in Russian, confusing them. "It means shut up!"

Isaac struggled some more but Madison had a much better grip and kept him under. Her hands were more submerged than Derek's or Scott's, who were just as invested into the water to hold Isaac. Finally, she felt him relax in her hold as he stopped thrashing around. Isaac ceased to move.

"You can let him go now," she whispered. She lifted her hands and watched as he rose slowly to the surface. She reached for a towel behind her to wipe the cold water off her flesh. She heard him take a deep breath and looked over to his tranquil face just above the surface.

"Now remember," Deaton started. Madison looked his way and noted his index finger pointing up as if in a lecture to remind the students. "Only I talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out."

They all held their hands over his body, lightly keeping his figure under enough to remain under the trance. She extended her deeper and found his floating fingers. She quickly grabbed them with her own and intertwined them to show support. Derek noticed only one of her hands was in on the body but couldn't locate the other.

_Is that all the strength you're going to contribute? _He demanded irately.

She shook her head incredulously. _Shut up Hale. _

"Isaac, can you hear me?" Deaton asked calmly.

"Yes," Isaac stuttered. The cold had overwhelmed his body. "I can hear you," he assured again, clearer.

"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd liked to ask you a few questions, is that all right?"

"Yes," Isaac murmured again. Madison drew circled on his hand with her thumb until he would otherwise need to squeeze it if it got to scary.

"I want to ask about the night you found Erica and Boyd," Deaton clarified. "I want you to remember it for me with as vivid detail as possible, like you're actually there again."

Suddenly his pulse hiked and Isaac's hand tightened around Madison's. "No, no, no, I don't want to do that," he objected. "I don't want to do that, I don't want to do that," he repeated fervently. The lights around them flickered but Madison paid no mind to the electricity and continued to hold his hand reassuringly.

Derek and the other struggled to hold him down as he struggled in the tub again.

"Just relax," Madison caught Deaton saying with a gradual climb of volume. "They are just memories, you can't be hurt my memories."

They continued to exchange these opposing phrases like a short battle before Dr. Deaton won and coaxed Isaac back to his subconscious for any possible answers. His hand still clung tightly to hers.

"Good," Dr. Deaton assured. "Now let's go back to that night, to the place where you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building, house…?"

"It's not-a-not-a-house," Isaac replied. His head shook and eyes squeezed. "It's stone…thick marble," he stuttered out.

"That's perfect," Deaton encouraged. "Can you give me any descriptors?"

"It's dusty…so empty," Madison thought she heard Isaac say.

"Like an abandoned building," Deaton suggested. "Isaac, Isaac," he called out frantically as the lights began to flicker and dim out in sequence again. Madison felt him clutch tighter and wouldn't let him go, promising to hold on with the firmness of her hold.

"Who are they, someone's here," Isaac thought out loud, reliving his moments in clarity. His other hand pulled out and snaked around Scott's arm. "Who are they?" Scott looked at the wet, desperate hand but did not remove it.

"Isaac," Dr. Deaton called out again, "relax."

"_No, no, no, they see me_!" Isaac panicked. He let out a strangled cry.

"They're just memories, you can't be hurt by memories," Dr. Deaton assured again. "Just relax, relax," he soothed. Madison glared at Dr. Deaton as her hand lost blood flow from the tight grip Isaac had on her. "Good, now tell us what you see, tell us everything."

"I hear them," Isaac narrated. His eyes pulled apart to reveal dark blue abysses almost matching Madison's. She slowly dug her claw into Isaac's flesh as gently as she could. A little slither of blood escaped and circled around the area, catching Stiles' attention but was quieted by her affectionate feature on her softened expression. He couldn't parallel those two together and left it alone as Isaac was still undisturbed.

Madison stiffened as she saw some of the blurred images Isaac envisioned in his memory.

"He's talking about the full moon, about… being out of control when the moon rises," Isaac said.

"Is he talking to Erica?" Dr. Deaton asked. Madison focused on the voice.

"I think its Boyd," she whispered to Derek. Derek shot at her and then noticed her submerged hand and the small taint of red around it and connected the dots. He didn't protest as he saw the advantage of it.

"I think so… I can't-I can't see her… I can't- I can't see any of them," Isaac stuttered.

"Can you hear anything else," Deaton called out.

Madison shook her as she tried to interpret the images. Derek pleaded with her to share her link. She shook her head.

_I can only do one at a time, Derek, _she exclaimed mentally. _I need to focus on Isaac and I'll share it with you later! _She urged. Derek nodded understandingly and grabbed her hand for support. She held that hand gratefully while the other one was still engorged with Isaac's numb hand.

"They're worried," Isaac answered. "They're worried-worried about the full moon….worried they're going to hurt each other."

Derek shook his head in dismay and glanced at Scott before turning to Madison pleadingly. "If they're locked in together on the full moon, they're going to tear each other part," he assumed. Madison nodded slightly in agreement.

"Isaac, we need to find them right now," Deaton urged passionately. "Can you see them? Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of marker, a number on a door, a sign," Deaton suggested urgently. Each time the light above them dimmed from bright to black rapidly. Derek looked towards Madison who kept shaking her head, confused and overwhelmed.

Isaac burst from the surface, splashing water everywhere in his sudden panic.

"They're here," Isaac whispered. Madison's pulse spiked as she understood him with collaborating images. "They're here," he freaked. Madison struggled to keep her claws embedded into his flesh. Derek helped him by guiding Isaac back under with a delicate hand.

"Alright, just tell us," Deaton urged calmly. Isaac struggled for breath as he trembled, fumbling over words in his moment of terror.

"They see me! They found me!" He cried hoarsely. "They're here!"

"This isn't working!" Derek exclaimed. Madison freed her hand from Derek's grip to slap him.

"Shut up Derek," she breached her link. She glared at him as Derek interrupted the trance. "Isaac, where are you?" He demanded loudly.

"I can't see! It's too dark! I can't see! I can't see!" Isaac cried out in horror. Deaton tried over speaking over his shouting, along with Derek, demanding the same line of "_tell me where you are!"_ while Deaton warned Derek of confusing him. Madison could only stay silent, knowing she had to focus on what images were left she could get from Isaac in his state.

She was struck with an image of an older man, sunglasses adorning his chiseled jaw. She gasped, knowing the face from somewhere. It was the same one she saw before the unknown Alpha cut the connection with her and the mystery girl with a slash to the throat (or face, she couldn't be certain.) This wasn't just a coincidence. It was all being pieced together. A blurred figure walked along the balcony far behind him, catching [Isaac] in his sight in the vision. The Alpha in the blackened shades turned his head, noticing something.

Derek's distant voice disturbed her, interrupting the vision as he continued to shout the same line of "_tell me where you are!_" Scott cried out Derek's name in a panic as Deaton warned him about Isaac going into shock. "_Isaac, where are you? What did you see?" "Derek let him go!" _The conflicting shouts made it difficult for her to focus.

"_SHUT UP_," Madison cried out. "_I'm losing him!_"

A vault came into mind, opened, as figure walked out. She [as Isaac] was pulled back and forced on the floor. She saw he had looked up, captured by the image of a female Alpha. Her teeth were exposed threateningly while her clawed feet held him down.

She felt him being dragged away, screaming, and into a room, a dark one. She couldn't see at first due to the lack of light and haze of the memory but she got enough to see a limp body next to him, blond curls discarded in a messy display. A grey complexion marred her features and glazed her eyes. She gasped.

She tore her hand from his wrist as he jolted forward, tearing skin. She retracted it so fast the water couldn't wash it off and it stuck under her nails as she returned to her human state.

"I saw it!" Isaac exclaimed. "I saw the name!"

"I did, too," Madison whispered. Derek wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her close protectively. "Beacon Hills First National Bank," Madison said. _She was right. The girl was right. I've known all along. _She glanced at Derek, wondering if he heard but he was too preoccupied with something else as his dark expression suggested he heard something different and perhaps even worse. Madison should've told Derek when she heard it first but she didn't want to go into something unless she knew more about it. It was a trap. It was good instinct not to go into it right away. Hopefully Derek would understand if he ever discovered it.

She aided Isaac as she climbed out of the tub and wrapped the blanket protectively around his shoulder before hugging him close. He looked down at his wrist, realizing there was a slight throbbing and saw a wound gushing blood. He gasped but Madison calmed him down again with a soothing gesture before he could override in panic again. "The Alphas are keeping them locked inside the bank in a vault," Madison explained to the others as she licked the tips of her fingers and applied them into the wound. Once again, Isaac was brought back to the night she found him and how her rough tongue had healed his head wound in a matter of seconds as if it had magical qualities. Just as he predicted, the wound began to heal itself as she slowly took her bloodied fingers out.

"_An injury from an Alpha takes longer than usual for a werewolf to heal from but I can make the process quicker if I apply some of my own saliva to the wound. Apparently, it's a remedy that's been passed down from my family."_ She explained to him softly in a whisper. Derek tilted his head in confusion at the delicate display of affection between feared Alpha and a timid Beta. She wiped some of his hair from his face and tenderly wiped her thumb over his cold, rose swollen cheeks. Isaac looked at his wrist and noticed it was completely healed.

"Thank you," he stuttered, still cold. She warmed his hands with her own, gathering them in a tight lock to spread warmth gradually so he wouldn't go into shock. He looked around and blushed, embarrassed by their awed looks. "What?"

Madison held him tighter.

"You don't remember what you said when you came out of it, do you?" Stiles said lowly. She analyzed Stiles' dark expression and her stomach plummeted at the bad news predicted to come. She looked to Derek's also forlorn expression.

"Uh, you said when they captured that they dragged you into a room and that there was a body in it," Stiles recapped ominously. Madison gripped him tighter as she expected the boy to relapse into a panic at the upcoming tragedy she knew was to be announced.

"What body," he questioned. He presented Madison a lost, pleading look. She couldn't offer any words and continued to hold the boy comfortingly. She pressed a kiss to the crown of his head just like her dad did whenever he was to deliver bad news or reassure her everything would be fine –even if it wouldn't. Isaac gripped her hand painfully in anxiety.

"Erica," Stiles deadpanned darkly. "You said it was Erica."

_Teen Wolf _

"She's not dead!" Derek denied. Madison shook her head. Of course he'd denied it. He wouldn't be able to fathom it. The guilt would eat him alive. That was typical of the new Alpha.

"I've been through this, Derek," she tried to comfort but he shot her down heatedly, pointing a finger at her.

"Shut up Madison," he ordered. She tilted her head. He's just coping, Madison calmed herself.

"No Derek," she calmly asserted. Her voice rose above his and naturally he submitted under her grave tone. "I won't. You think you're the only one who lost a pack member? Cecelia's corpse was delivered to Devon at his doorstep and I had to hear him in hysterics over the phone. I know how it feels like to lose a pack member. I know the guilt. Just accept the fact she's gone for good and grieve instead of prolonging this torture," she consoled. Derek seethed and growled at her menacingly. She shook her head. "Anger will not help you, my friend. It'll make things worse."

"Derek, he said there was a dead body." Stiles asserted, too. He pointed to Isaac who leaned back against the wall in a daze, still trying to function with this revelation. "It's Erica. Doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation," he said seriously.

"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?" Derek retorted.

Madison shrugged. "Perhaps the girl that saved Isaac, besides me, of course," she presented.

"Someone else obviously," Stiles' sassed back. Madison rolled her eyes. Stiles may have been smart but when it came to angering Alphas, he did not know when to shut his trap. Derek ignited like a fire, from a flicker of anger to an explosion of rage in the sudden transformation of his face. Madison held back her thoughts.

"Maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle," Scott offered.

"I _just _said that," Madison exclaimed, flicking a hand at the broad shouldered Beta. Scott looked sheepishly aside.

"No," Isaac opposed. "She wasn't like it," he explained with a shake of the head, "and whoever was in the vault with Boyd was."

"Yay," Madison sarcastically groaned, "another fucking mutt. Like we need more," she groaned.

"What if that's how Erica died," Stiles theorized. "They-they pit them against each other during the full moon and see which one survives," he offered. Madison nodded along. "It's like werewolf thunder dome!" He compared.

"They do that," Madison agreed, "what I mean is that it's common. At least it was when I visited It started as some kind of game that my family 'played' and I'm using that term very loosely," she warned. "During the old times when we had territory wars, the captured were put into an enclosure and my family and their allies would watch as these competitors were forced to kill each other. It was a sick minded game for them and it set a rumor-a-reputation among the different families and packs. These outer packs were utterly terrified of being possibly pit against their own brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters or friends, so they _killed_ themselves before my family could even get to them if there was a chance they'd lose."

Everyone turned to her as she explained the brutal story and she stopped as she realized she was terrifying them. "What do you expect," she complained, crossing her arms over her chest. "I come from a long line of killers," she emphasized with dramatic hand gestures. "Where do you think this blood lust comes from? Do you want me to get into further detail about how they starved these poor people before battle so it was purely instinctual? They exhausted the human out of the werewolf, leaving them solely as animals that were willing to rip the throats out of their opponents –mindless of their relation to the poor fools –exclusively to survive for the next day! It was pretty sadistic."

Derek gaped at her. "Don't give me that look," she demanded. "It's not as cruel as the alternative."

"What's the alternative?" Stiles exclaimed incredulously. "What can be worse than _that_?" Madison rolled her eyes.

She turned to Stiles and stared at him coldly. "You set them off into the deep, dark, _dense _woods with the intent of giving them false hope of survival. In the back of their mind, they think they have a chance of freedom but then they also know to haul ass because we could chase after them –which we do, _always_. We out run them, spar an hour or two to terrorize them, exhaust them because they run so much in such a little amount of time, where eventually we catch them and maul them to death."

"Your family is sick," Stiles cried as stumbled back to gain distance.

"My family is old fashioned," she countered.

"You talk in present like you've actually done this," Scott caught on. Madison glanced at him.

"Beside the point," Derek ignored them. "Then we get them out tonight," he ordered.

"Be smart about this Derek," Deaton intervened. He shifted his gaze from Madison to Derek, quickly recovering from his astounded expression to a more serious one as he took into account the severity and complexity of the matter. "You can't just go storming in.:"

"If Isaac can go in, Derek contradicted, "So can we."

"And if Isaac gets captured," Madison reasoned sarcastically, "so will we," she sneered. "Well, not _me," _she corrected. "_I'm fast. _I'd out run them. They can't keep up with me." She shook her head. "It's impossible." No one had ever caught up with her. She, much like her relatives, possessed enhanced abilities greater than the inbred werewolves outside their family tree. The purity of their abilities amplified. Madison had inherited her father's supreme sense of smell and his endurance and speed, the inherited qualities of an excellent tracker, but Sloane had discarded his natural abilities in substitute to be a fighter as his families' cause required more defense than offense.

"Huh, wonder where you got the experience," Stiles defied. Madison growled lowly.

"If you're insinuating what I believe you're insinuating, be aware, _if _that was where I _harnessed _my _skill_, then you better haul ass to Timbuktu before I rip you to pieces to demonstrate who good of a werewolf I am, understand?" Stiles gulped as her eyes glared red, striking a new sense of fear and respect into him. Deaton gasped as he realized something about her but kept it private but with a reminder to confront her afterwards.

"_And," _Deaton got back on track. "He didn't get through a vault door, did he," Deaton added.

"We need a plan," Scott claimed the obvious.

"We got ourselves a genius on our hands, don't we," she retorted, throwing her hands up.

Derek shot her a dirty look. "Aren't you supposed to be the genius," he dared her. "How would you suppose we break into a bank vault in 24 hours?"

"Uh, I think someone already did," Stiles alerted. He began to read his phone out loud. "Beacon Hills First National closes its door three months after vault robbery. Doesn't say how it was robbed but it probably won't take long to find out."

"How," Derek demanded. Madison scoffed, throwing her head back to laugh lightly. Stiles shot her a critical look at her skepticism.

"It's the internet, Derek," Stiles snorted at Derek, "kay _minutes." _

Madison doubled over and shook her head. Stiles looked at her skeptically. "What are you laughing about?" He demanded.

She continued to laugh. "I'm sorry," she muffled. "I'm sorry but seriously, you are so naïve. You need to find a better source," she exclaimed before she started to walk off. "_Ha," _she bellowed a high pitched squeal, "_the internet_," he heard her snort from a distance. Deaton followed her as she exited the room.


	7. Resurrected P4-5 (3x02 Chaos Rising)

**PART 4**

_Teen Wolf _

Madison parked her BMW up front early, coffee mug in her hands as she finished the warm liquid feverishly. She left the container in the cup holder and closed the lid, sure that smell wouldn't escape the cap and defile the clean small of her tan leather interior. She opened her door after gathering her materials from her passenger side and slid the strap of her bag on once shoulder. Parallel to her on the other side of the street, a black sedan unleashed two familiar figures. She recognized the green coated red-head as the smartass Lydia and the short haired brunette as the naïve little hunter she all but strangled yesterday.

She narrowed her eyes as she listened intently to their conversation.

"So Mystery Girl's bruise on our arms turns out to be a logo for a bank?" Lydia exclaimed skeptically as they stepped out of the car. Madison's ears perked. So Allison was smart enough to get that information on her, she admitted to herself. She watched them with keen blue eyes, still leaning against her car door as she went unnoticed. Lydia laughed. "What's she trying to do," she chortled, "give us investment advice?"

"Not this bank," Allison replied as they closed the doors. Madison did the same and turned her back so they wouldn't suspect her of listening. They disregarded the familiar-but-common curls of blond cascading down her pink tunic, unaware of the face behind it, assuming her to be someone else. "It's been closed for years," Allison affirmed.

"Why aren't you telling Scott?" Lydia probed.

"Because according to someone," Allison spitefully said, "I need to find something real." Madison rolled her eyes and glanced over her shoulder to see Allison open her trunk. She couldn't see much past their coats and assumed it was just another bag of some sort school related. "Which reminds me, uh, I can't drive you home today. You'll need to find someone to drive you after school."

"You're really not planning to go there alone, are you?" Madison called out, coming up behind. Her speed allowed her to appear behind them like a ghost. Allison spun around, startled, while Lydia jolted back in shock. "Even I would be a little hesitant to go there and I'm significantly stronger and faster than you. I don't think a human like you would stand a chance at the big, bad Alphas lair," Madison warned gravely.

"MAD-AUBREY," Scott called from a distance. Madison rolled her eyes.

"I should have never told him my name," Madison sneered before turning around to face the direction of his voice. She feigned a smile as he waved her forward. She turned to Allison. "Don't you be an idiot, Allison," she warned before walking briskly to Scott who was joined by Stiles. "Hi mutt, hi snack," she flashed Stiles her canines quickly before hiding them behind her firm-lined lips. "Don't think I forgot about that comment last night, Stilinski. How about I race you to the front steps?" She taunted.

Stiles shivered before glancing down at her boots. "In heels," he countered with a smirk.

She shrugged. "The better to stomp on you with," she teased with a coy grin.

"I'll decline, thank you very much," Stiles objected. She shrugged.

"Alright," Scott intervened, "we meet at Derek's at five to go over the plan and we don't get started until dark," he explained to both of them.

"Okay," Stiles nodded along as he adjusted his backpack. Scott smiled at Madison as she ventured to his side and walked alongside with him. "What do we do 'til then?" Stiles implored.

"Right now," Scott clarified, "we go to English."

_Teen Wolf _

Allison ignored Madison's warning as just a jib and drove to the abandoned, desolate bank alone, bolt cutters in hand. The doors were chained but they didn't stand a chance against her weapon of choice and crumbled under the pressure of the metal jaws. She pulled the chain from the doors and pushed on through inside the desolate building.

The disrepair of the building laid a mess around Allison's feet as she mustered the courage to trudge through the disregarded junk and trash amidst on the ground. There was little light to guide her as she trudged deeper into the darkness. She stumbled a bit but kept her balance overall. She came across a hallway, clearer than the rest of the building and cut through it. The anxiety building up was too much to bear as she felt being watched at every corner. She constantly shifted her head from one side to the other in fear of being pounced upon.

A blur of black frightened her and her reflexes jumped into action as she swung in that direction with her fist. An arm shot past her face and her panic ignited. The blackened, shadowed stranger seemed to have an advantage of strength over her and pushed her up against a pillar. Allison gasped at the impact of the wall her attacker shoved her against. She bounced off it only to be heaved once more into the solid substance. Allison faced her attacker directly as the opponent pressed her forearm against Allison's throat. Her brown eyes widened as she recognized the dark pair of eyes glaring back at her under blackened banes.

"Ms. Morell?" She exclaimed incredulously.

"Keep your mouth shut and listen to this," Ms. Morell demanded in a rushed tone. "You have no idea what you just stepped into. Right now you have twenty seconds to get your ass in!"

"What are you doing?" Allison gasped.

"That storage closet over there, lock the door!" She demanded. "When you hear the fighting start, that's when you come out."

"What fighting?" Allison asked, confused and scared.

"You'll hear it, now go!"

Ms. Morell let go and ran in the opposite direction, disappearing into the shadows while Allison hurried to the closet and closed the door behind her. The darkness consumed her and she struggled to find a light switch of some sort, only to discover it was futile as the electricity was a long time ago.

_Teen Wolf _

"Okay, see this? This is how he got in," Stiles directed. He tapped the marker on a spot on the map. Madison kept her distance as the men crowded over the table before she maneuvered to the other side, not minding the reverse perspective but she could follow along with their words. She kept herself warm in the cool loft with a thick sweatshirt of a popular logo while black leggings adorned her legs comfortably. Aware of how the night would plan, she changed her designer heels to Nike shoes at home before she drove to Derek. She paced comfortably in the expensive pair of neon shoes. Derek shot her a warning look, annoyed by the tapping of her soles.

"It's a roof top air conditioning vent," Stiles continued to described, "leads down inside into the wall of the vault which is here," he circled in red. Madison followed the map closely with her eyes, "okay?"

"One of the robbers was lured into this shift," he pointed out again with the marker. "Now, that space is so small it took them about twelve hours to drill into that wall, which is stone by the way," he clarified to the egos of the werewolves around them, "paying attention Missy?" he pointed to Madison. She veered back, surprised.

"Then throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall." Stiles gestured dramatically with punctual points of the marker jabbing across the page to pinpoint specific locations. "Boom," he concluded.

"Can we fit in there?" Scott asked skeptically.

"Yeah we can but very, very barely and they patched the wall obviously so we're going to need a drill of some kind," he rambled off. "I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit…"

"Forget the drill," Derek cut in.

"Sorry?" Stiles' excused foully, obviously skeptical of Derek's capabilities. Madison leaned back with the anticipation of an amusing scene.

"If I go in first," Derek began, "how much space do I have?"

Stiles' face contorted through a variety of different expression before settling with a skeptical one to say the least. Both boys turned to face each other, Derek obviously looming over Stiles' slimmer physique. Derek crossed his arms over his buffed chest in his typical manner. Scott looked behind, just as amused as Madison who couldn't help grinning.

"What-what do you think you're going to do, Derek?" Stiles objected. "Punch through the wall?"

"Yes Stiles, I'm going to punch through the wall."

"Okay big guy," Stiles challenged, "let's see it, let's see that fist," he demanded, gesturing to his hand. Madison burst out laughing at the crude sexual joke. Stiles momentarily ignored her. "Big old fist," he continued to taunt, "make it," he urged, "come on. Put it out there, don't be scared." Derek pulled out his huge fist and held up in front of Stiles while glancing at Madison who could only shake her head, very amused with the turn of events. "Big bad wolf, yeah, look at that," he examined the prime fist before touching it. "Okay, see this?" He grabbed Derek's wrist and used his other as a demonstration of the wall. Madison winced as she realized how badly things could go for Stiles if Derek decided to punch the hand as a 'demonstration.' "That's maybe 3 inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid-"

He was abruptly cut off by a loud, painful thud as Derek's fist rammed into Stile's thinner hand. Stiles fumbled backwards, stunned by the force that sent him plummeting to the ground. She winced as she imagined the pain the kid must've felt at the trauma and glanced sympathetically at him as Stiles climbed to the desk to gather balance. She heard him cry out and grunt at the tremendous pain in repetition as he tried to walk it off.

"He can do it," someone said. Madison wasn't sure if it was Scott or Stiles because her snorts impaired her hearing momentarily.

"No he can't," Madison doubted. "Stiles' is not solid marble," Madison pointed out. "He's like Jell-O. I'm a better example of strength. If Derek can punch me the way he can punch meat-stick there, I'll be confident about his abilities." She maneuvered around the table and passed Scott to stand in front of Derek, holding up her palm.

"Okay _big boy," _she taunted. "Put it there," she dared, slapping her own palm. Derek shook his head. "No way, you can't back down. If you played rough last night, you can get rough now, show off."

"I'm not punching you," Derek told. Madison rolled her eyes before taking her first and ramming it into his throat. Derek fell back as he grabbed the sore area. He began to cough for the air that was literally knocked out of him before hackling. Madison laughed.

"She can do it, too," Scott offered. Madison shrugged once again.

"You didn't punch me because I'm a female and I take offense to that. I am no different from Stiles. Because of biased treatment, you got a rightful punch to the throat," she explained as she returned to herself of the table.

"I'll get through the wall," Derek assured after he had a moment to recover. He glared at Madison. "Who's following me down?" He looked to Madison.

"No way," Madison declined, shaking her head furiously. Derek jolted back, surprised by her answer but then looked to the left where Peter observed them on the steps.

Just like Madison, he fervently declined. "Don't look at me," he started. Madison watched the older man with stern eyes as he leaned forward to disparage them. "I'm not up to fighting speed yet."

"You had _months," _Madison disagreed. She narrowed her eyes into slits.

"That's not enough time to recover from the dead, Maddy."

"Don't call me Maddy," she vilified with a sour sneer.

He ignored her spite. "And honestly," he returned to Derek, "with Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself." Madison rolled her eyes. "Even with young _Madison Elise, _I don't think we'd have much of chance either."

"Really," Madison exasperated, "did you just use my middle name?" She stole a moment to process it before her face reddened. Derek noticed this and advanced towards her, prepared to pull her back if the situation took a violent turn. She slapped her palm down on the table, startling Scott who jolted backwards. "If you ever say it again, I'll kill you. I mean it, Hale, I will slaughter for good," she threatened avidly, "to spare Derek a migraine of your incessant presence."

"Is that how you thank the man who mentored you?" Peter quipped.

"No," Madison replied coldly. "That's how I reward a man who went behind my back and set my father loose. That's how I treat a man who went behind my back and resurrected someone who should've stayed dead. You don't contradict the laws of nature and yet you defied them over and over again," she roared. Derek jerked her back by grabbing her arm and tugging her back.

Scott and Stiles gasped at the revelation. Sloane was alive? _Madison's father_ was alive, like Peter? Stiles shivered in fright. Madison was one thing, but if the stories about her family was true, and given the events of his passing, Sloane would most definitely be a force to be reckoned with. No wonder Madison feared the idea of him wandering around in the streets. Stiles began to wonder how alike the two were or perhaps Sloane was a whole different entity?

"So I'm just supposed to let them die," Derek retorted to Peter as he held Madison close to his body. She struggled in his grip as her eyes glared red at the weakened Beta-post-Alpha.

"One of them is already dead," Peter reminded.

"We don't know that," Derek denied.

"We do," Madison insisted although she felt bitter siding with Peter on this one. Derek glanced down at with betrayed eyes but she ignored the twinge of culpability she felt, knowing the reality had to seep through eventually. "I saw it, Isaac saw, she's dead like a dog," she compared to Tabitha's favorite saying, ignoring her own twinge of unpleasantness when she was reminded how her Beta would no longer be her Beta anymore regardless if the transition was successful or not.

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here?" Peter bellowed. "A pack of Alphas, all of them, killers, just like our little Russian princess here," he motioned to Madison's struggling figure, "just as psychotic and murderous as she. If that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember two of them combine bodies to form one giant Alpha," he piqued. Madison looked away but Derek kept her in his safe grasp and rubbed her shoulders relaxingly. "I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids. They're going to be missed." He snidely inputted.

"Can someone kill him again please?" Stiles grumbled as he turned away from Peter to the pair of Alphas. "Just unleash the Rottweiler," he motioned to Madison. "She'll get him out of our hair," he explained. Derek shook his head.

"Mads, calm down, we'll talk about this later," he whispered into her ear as she continued to fight his control. He laced his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Stiles was taken aback at their unusual proximity and glanced at Scott who was equally perplexed. The Madison they remember who have thrown Derek across the room if he even suggested such a gesture. Eventually she stilled and waited for Derek to unleash his grip but he didn't, knowing very well Madison could spring like a Cobra and all but maul Peter –and as much as he wished for that to happen –he couldn't deal with the additional damage in a time of crisis like now. "Settle down," he coaxed her one final time before guiding her closer to the table and trapping her between his arms.

"Derek, seriously, not worth the risk," Peter finished, crossing his hands together.

"What about you," Derek asked, letting his gaze wander to Scott. Stiles misread the phrase and assumed it was directed at him, seeming as he was in the middle.

"Sure, if you want me to come," Stiles eagerly replied, not realizing the question was meant for his best friend.

"Not you," Derek corrected loudly. Stiles turned, surprised and a bit hurt, Madison caught.

"Scott," Stiles guessed, pointing his finger to the Beta.

"I don't know about Erica," Scott said, "but if Boyd is still alive we have to do something." He agreed. Madison rolled her eyes.

"It's a suicide mission, you guys. As much as I despise Peter, I'm not quite comfortable getting in there quite yet. It's too early to make an assessment." She urged.

"We have to try, Mads. For Boyd, for Cecelia…" Madison moved her head in shame at the mention of her weakest link. Sure, Bambi –as she affectionately called the fragile girl due to her doe-brown eyes –wasn't the ideal werewolf but Madison took responsibility for her after accidently turning her. She enlisted her under her protection, promising she would help them in any means necessary. She would never forgive herself for all but abandoning them in her hunt for history back in Russia. In her moment of weakness, the Alphas preyed and sacrificed poor little Bambi –devastating her boyfriend Devon. Another broken heart left behind in her trail of death and destruction.

"But," Derek cut in, noticing Scott's lost expression.

"Who's the other girl," Scott reminded, "the one locked in with Boyd."

Madison shook her head. She didn't feel right bursting in with an unknown threat. Derek and Scott could probably handle themselves against the Betas but if the Alphas took guard, that'd be a whole other messy situation. She straightened herself up from her bent position over the table and accidently hit Derek in the chest. He grunted softly but didn't remove his hands around her, locking her within his proximity.

"I'll pose as back up," Madison suddenly proposed. "Boyd is one thing, a stranger is another. You guys get Boyd and Erica –alive or dead –and I'll come in as backup if something goes awry. I can pose as a distraction and check for any surprises that might sabotage us."

"Thank you Madison," Scott appreciated. She smiled at him honestly before shooting a weary glance at Derek.

Derek nodded and a ghost of a smile implied his hidden gratitude under his hard exterior. His hand on her left side snaked around her waist and gave her a quick hug, tight but short lived before pushing her between he and Stiles.

_Teen Wolf _

_Tap, tap, tap, tap…_

Allison's heart pounded against her chest as she moved to a corner away from the door. The nearby tapping of a cane grew closer and louder.

"Allison," someone whispered.

She all but screamed before she suppressed it with her hand as she looked around.

"Don't panic," the soft female voice directed calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you. See that ammonia on the shelf?" the soft voice said. "Reach up, there, you got it. Put it on the floor." Allison lifted the plastic can from the shelf, uncapped it slowly and laid it flat on the floor so the liquid with flow smooth and silent. "She's gone. Good girl," the mysterious voice commended. "Don't let it get passed the door."

Allison shrugged off her jacket and let it drop over the ammonia, letting it soak.

She removed the phone in here teeth and used the camera light to guide her sight around the small closet room. A dark red shoulder appeared in sight and Allison jolted back in surprise.

"It's just me," the voice calmed. Allison moved the camera closer to the head and gasped as the light spotlighted on an older woman's face. She still had a fragrance of youth about her. Her skin was smooth like marble, just as pale, with thick black hair and blacker eyes. She appeared to be significantly taller than Allison.

"You…you…" Allison stuttered. "It's not a coincidence is it," Allison accused. "You look exactly like her," Allison stumbled over the memory not long ago, when Madison had all but cornered her in the woods and berated her with the images of her mother.

Same hair, same eyes, same skin, same voice…

"I am," Aubrey answered steadily. "I'm her mother."

"I'm hallucinating…," she tried to reason with herself before glaring at the solid figure across from her, "how" Allison demanded quietly. "You're dead."

"Yes I am," Aubrey agreed. She frowned, "and so is she," she added with a nod to the left.

Allison moved the camera to the left, lower, and let out a shrill cry as a pile of blond locks fell forward, veiling a face but Allison had caught Erica's grey, cracked complexion a second before she fell forward. Aubrey's hand touched Allison's shoulder calmly. She brought Allison closer and tucked her head under her chin as Allison convulsed in disgust at the corpse. She soothed down Allison's hair comfortingly.

_Teen Wolf _

"I can't take waiting around like this, you know," Stiles spoke out loud. He looked up at the full moon through the bay windows with uncertainly. Peter rested quietly behind him on the couch, comfortable on the faded cushions while the boy panicked ahead of the desk. "It's nerve wracking. My nerves are wracked, their severely wracked," he exclaimed as his panic heightened, "_wracked." _

"I could beat you unconscious and wake you when it's over," Peter coolly retorted. Stiles veered around, annoyed with his presence.

"Do you think Erica is really dead," Stiles asked vulnerably. He looked down at his hands. "Isaac saw her, Madison saw her…"

"Do you think I really care?" Peter countered, bothered by Stiles inquisitions.

"Which is why I don't understand the bank though," Stiles exclaimed, letting his ADHD take over his train of thoughts. "Okay-well-why wouldn't they chain them up in some underground lair or something? They're an Alpha pack, right? Don't they have a lair?" He let his imagination consumed him.

"They're _werewolves_, not Bond villains," Peter groaned out. The boy was testing his patience with each word to ramble out of his mouth.

"Wait a sec," Stiles once again diverted, "_wait a sec. _Maybe they're living there, you know? Like maybe, the bank vault reminds them of their little wolf dens," he exclaimed with dramatic hand gestures as he approached the giant hole in the brick wall.

"Wolf dens?" Peter repeated mockingly.

"Yeah, wolf dens!" He emphasized excitedly. "Where do you live?" He inquired to prove a point. Peter rolled his eyes.

"In an underground network of caves deep in the woods," Peter replied with a grin, enjoying the gullible expression of the boy.

"Whoa, _really_," Stiles swung back with wide eyes.

"No, you idiot," Peter sneered. "I rent an apartment downtown." He chuckled to himself. Even Peter had a certain standard of living. "Do you think Madison has a wolf den or her father?" He further mocked.

"Speaking of her father," Stiles began, "did you really resurrect him?" Stiles asked, astounded. He stepped closer to the older man but kept a safe distance though.

Peter intertwined his fingers together in deep thought. "Yes," he answered honestly. Stiles' was taken aback. "It was difficult to do but I managed to revive the great Sloane to the living world," he goaded.

"What's he like?" Stiles demanded. Peter smirked.

"Sloane is a very…quiet man," Peter began, "but very large in size. I can see why many are scared of him. He's a brute. Hard to believe someone as slim as Madison came from a beast such as him," Peter narrated.

"What about his personality?" Stiles questioned. "Where is he now?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Peter pointed behind him. Stiles spun around in a panic but saw nothing. He realized Peter had tricked him and glared at the past-Alpha with infuriated eyes.

"But that only proves my point," Peter explained. "You don't even know what he looks like but the mere mention of his name strikes the deepest of fears in you. I saw it in your eyes. That kind of reaction is not rewarded for many people, not even I."

"Where does he live? Do you know?"

Peter shook his head. "He left me in a dust not very long after I brought him back. Where he resides, I have no clue, but he does work somewhere –a hospital I believe. Apparently, he was an expert in pharmaceuticals." Peter let out a hearty laugh. "That's rich. It must be from his wife. She was a witch you know. I always wondered how he managed to coax one into bed, let alone conceive a child with. They tend to be manipulative little things. Perhaps that's where our little Madison inherited her ability to influence and control. Like mother, like daughter," Peter sneered.

"Wait, Aubrey was a witch?"

Peter nodded. "A feared one, too. Her father was a prophet, her mother was telepathic. It's odd though. Aubrey turned out to be neither. She had a very feared but desired ability to alter one's health, for better or worse. To those she healed, she was blessing, and to those who crossed her, she was their inevitable death. With flick of a finger and you're destined to an existence of misery and suffering, or perhaps, a quick death if you're lucky. She was beautiful though, so very beautiful. Sloane was one lucky man, that's for sure." He grinned in reminisce, picturing the tall brunette with warm brown eyes –the one Sloane got to see, instead of the fierce, black eyed crow her reputation made her out to be.

Stiles rolled his eyes as Peter's typical womanizing way and decided to get back on topic before Peter could irritate him further with mindless talk about some beautiful woman.

"Okay, fine, why wait around for the full moon, huh?" He got back on track. "Why not just kill them whenever they want to?"

"Maybe they think it's poetic," Peter scoffed.

"They already had three full moons to be poetic," Stiles refuted.

"And here you've only had one full hour to be so annoying," Peter ridiculed. Suddenly his eyes pried open as a revelation popped into his head.

"Not bad, finish what you were saying," Stiles dared, "I'm an-annoying-what were you going to say there?"

"What are the walls made of," Peter suddenly demanded as he sat up swiftly.

"What-uh," Stiles stuttered as he looked around the loft. "I don't know, wood?"

"No," Peter objected, "the vault, _the vault." _He clarified. He approached the desk and the materials on it. "The walls: what are they made out of?" He flipped through the various maps and papers as Stiles came up beside him. "Where would it say that?" He looked at the maps until he scanned the final one on the pile and inhaled sharply. "It doesn't say anything," he said, infuriated. "Where would it say the materials, the type of stone?" Peter demanded, staring directly at Stiles. Stile fumbled as the light bulb in his head flickered.

"Oh-oh," Stiles exclaimed, "Hang on," he prolonged as he shifted through the papers in his bag on the chair beside him. "Yeah, here, hang on! It's got to be in there," he said as he handed the thick collections of paper to Peter. He slammed it onto the desk surface and scanned through the pages.


	8. Resurrected P5-5 (3x02 Chaos Rising)

**PART 5**

_Teen Wolf _

Madison was brought back to the days earlier when she was chasing the Alphas though the carrier yard as she the two men in front of her examined the alley way. She scanned both ends with critical vision while Derek and Scott looked up for possible entrances.

She looked to one end, where her car was parked not far from, when she abruptly heard Derek snap at Scott. "What," he had demanded in his usual Alpha voice. She looked over her shoulder and noticed them exchange tense looks.

"It's just something I can't get out of my head," Scott replied sheepishly.

"Then say it," Madison demanded with sharp look. Scott looked at her, entranced by her silver, glowing hair under the dim moonlight while her red eyes cut through the blackness, using her superior vision as an advantage. "We don't have time for doubts or second thoughts. Put it out there, McCall," she ordered. Derek shot her a look but she didn't acknowledge it as she paced around the alley way. She didn't know if she should shift or to remain humanoid in case they needed backup.

"The moon is rising, Scott," Derek reminded anxiously. "What is it?"

"Risk and reward," Scott answered. Madison's ears perked. Why was Scott bringing a school lesson into this? She paid attention closely to his point as Derek argued.

"Which means what," Derek countered.

"We're not measuring the risk with enough information. We don't know enough," Scott explained. Madison joined them, siding with Scott as her eyes –now cobalt blue –burned into Derek, reminding him of her words from earlier paralleling on the same line. Derek rebuffed both of them.

"We know time is running out," Derek exclaimed.

"But think about it," Scott urged. "They put the triskelion into the door four months ago. What have they been doing all this time? Why wait until now?"

"We don't have the time to figure out every detail," Derek spurned. Madison narrowed her eyes.

"But what if this detail, the reason why they waited, what if it's the most important one?" Scott stressed. Madison nodded along.

"He has a point, Derek," Madison supported. She pushed her hands into her pockets of her sweatshirt. "I mean, I get it, we're on a tight schedule here, but we need to be worried about what we're dealing with and I don't think we even know that much about what we're up against? I've done more stakeouts than you guys probably done and even I have no clue what's in there." She pointed.

"Then we do nothing," Derek hypothetically suggested, "and Boyd and Erica are dead."

"Well, may I remind you it's just Boyd now we're concerned with? A corpse isn't as important as the survivor," she countered. Derek growled at her viciously but she was undisturbed.

"I know what I'm risking," Derek claimed, "my life for theirs."

"_His_," Madison continued, underlining the singularity of it. She rolled her eyes when he refused to acknowledge her. "The 'she' is no longer part of the _living_." She attempted again. Derek ignored her. Madison flung her hands up in defeat. "Whatever, fine, be delusion," she sneered. Her voice got less audible as she walked away towards the end of the alley to scan once more with her vibrant red eyes.

Derek clambered onto the building, grabbing at the rails as she watched from afar. He mentioned something to Scott and then looked to Madison. "I won't blame you if you don't follow me," she caught his quiet words and frowned. She wasn't meant to follow. She served only as back-up.

"Are you?" Scott asked. Madison shrugged.

"What choice do I have?" Madison insisted. "Just be safe, Scott." She made him promised. He nodded and scaled after Derek on the ladder.

_Teen Wolf _

She felt her phone buzz in her back pocket and glanced at the ID. "Stiles," she answered. "Any update? How's Peter? Can I kill him yet?"

"Now is not the time to joke!" Stiles struck. Madison was taken aback by the urgency of his tone. "You need to get Derek and Scott out of there!"

"Why?" Madison demanded as she started to walk up to the staircase and figure out how she could scale without dropping her phone.

"The walls of the vault are made with a mineral named hecatolite. It scatters the moonlight! It keeps the moonlight out, okay? They haven't felt the full moon in _months." _

"Think of it," Peter compared, "like the gladiators in the roman coliseum. They used to starve the lions for three days to make them more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three full moons."

"I know what it is," Madison panicked. "It's like moonstone! I've seen what it can do! I don't need to see it again," she rushed. "Damn it, I have to stop them or it's going to be a fucking blood bath," she said more so to herself. She sighed as she looked at other routes. "I'm going to have to climb," she murmured to herself as Stiles' voice continued to shout on speaker.

"They're going to be stronger," Stiles amplified.

"More savage, more blood thirsty," Peter added. "They're the lions! They're the starved lions and Derek and Scott have just stepped into the coliseum."

"_I know guys_," she roared. "I've seen it for myself what it can do. Now give me a second to figure out how to get inside," she growled. "I'm going to have to hang up. I can't keep you on the line if I have to scale up. Is there anything else you need to tell me before I put myself in the line of fire?" She demanded.

"Just get them out!" Stiles demanded. She hung up immediately and jumped into action, leaping onto the trashcan to gain momentum before sliding on the ladder a few feet across. She got a grip just like she practiced for years in the gymnastics area and swung for a steady hold before balancing herself on the steps. She climbed up quickly, following Derek's scent onto the rooftop to the open vent he left behind. She slid in easily due to her slender form and followed the direction they left their musk before light came into view. Growls emitted from below and her heart raced.

_I'm coming Derek, _she called out. She propelled herself through the busted hole of the air vent and flipped in the short distance gravity provided to on the heels of her feet. There, in front of her, the busted wall revealed a startling scene.

Derek and Scott were pressed against the wall, panicked, and Allison stumbled over mountain ash lined across the perimeter parallel to them. Derek ducked as Boyd charged forward, grabbing Scott by the collar and tossing him around.

"Damn it, Allison," she growled. Allison perked her head to the hole were Madison loomed. "Break the line! Break it!" She ordered in hysterics. Allison kneeled down as Scott cried out painfully again.

Madison glanced between both fights with frantic eyes as Boyd dragged Scott up the metal wall with his claws embedded in the boy's abdomen while Derek struggled to push away the stranger's arms. Madison knew they wouldn't be able to keep up with this for long but she could do nothing behind the mountain ash.

"Now, Allison," Madison snarled fiercely, catching the attention of the mysterious girl. She noticed Madison's gleaming red eyes and shuddered for a second, allowing Derek to toss her aside.

"No!" Derek cried out. Both girls stared at him incredulously. "Don't touch the seal!" He yelled as he fought off the vicious werewolf.

"You're an idiot Derek," Madison cursed. "Allison, break it now or else they'll be joining our moms!"

"No," Derek hissed at Madison. "You can't do that!"

"I can't," Madison agreed, "but Allison can! Now, Allison, or Scott's a goner!" She howled.

"Boyd!" Allison screech as she brushed away the mountain ash. Derek's eyes widened as both unruly werewolves bolted out the vault, ignoring Allison and passing her by in haste. Madison charged forward and pulled Scott off the ground and held him up. Derek charged at Allison in a rage while Madison assisted Scott out of the vault slowly, knowing the severity of his wounds.

"Don't touch her," Scott warned furiously knowing Derek's emotion towards the girl.

Madison let go of Scott as he balanced on his own and darted passed Derek and stepped between the two. He glowered at both females, only Madison was an equal adversary enough to match his stance and gesture, posing a greater threat to him than he did to Allison. Her eyes beamed red as a caution. Derek retreated but only by two or so steps.

"What were you two thinking?" Derek snarled. Madison lifted her head and her angered expression dropped when she took notice of the blood pooling around his face and chest.

"That I had to do something!" Allison exclaimed. She looked at Scott and Madison glanced at the concern lining the girl's dark eyes, unaware a similar glint could be detected in her own when she glanced at Derek's face. She zipped off her sweatshirt and folded it into a makeshift towel and forcefully applied to Derek's face. At first he veered back but she kept his head in a firm lock and pressed the white fabric against his wounds to stop the bleeding. Allison took note and searched for an article of her own to provide for Scott but came up empty handed.

"She saved our lives!" Scott argued as he supported himself against the arch of the vault opening. Madison offered her the same sweatshirt she used on Derek to Scott and he gratefully took it to wipe his bloodied mouth. Madison was too busy tending to Derek's arm and wetting the tips of her fingers and applying them to the bloodied wound. In sequence, she wiped the bloodied tips of her fingers on her blackened shirt and rewetted the tips. Derek didn't push her away, instead he persuaded her farther from Allison and next to him, as if to certify her alliance with him rather than risk her siding with the girl she detested again.

"If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't be here to scold us," Madison muttered as the wound began to heal but slowly due to the small about of natural applicant she was using. She wrapped her hand around his arm to hold him back just as he did to her only hours before to prevent any more bloodshed. Allison acknowledged the gesture and nodded thankfully –in that rare occasion –to Madison.

"Yeah, and what do you think they're going to do out there? Do you have any idea what we just set free?" Derek scolded. He glared down at Madison but she wasn't moved in the least. In fact she tightened her grip.

"Yes, I _do know," _Madison seethed. "I've seen it. I've _chased _it. Why do you think I hauled ass inside here to save your skins? I know what their capable of and if Allison didn't break that line, you'd end up like Erica."

"You wanna blame me?" Allison enraged. "Well I am not the one turning teenagers into killers," she spitefully returned. Derek seemed to ignite at the bitterness of her tone and bit the bait, retorting an insult of his own as he threw back her past actions in her face.

"_No,_" he denied. "No, that's just the rest of your family." Allison was visibly moved by his insult and seemed to quiet down to a dangerous whisper.

"I made mistakes," Allison owned up to, much to Madison's surprised. Allison looked at her as they both were brought back to the night at the warehouse. "Gerard is not my fault."

Madison shook her in disagreement and Allison's expression hardened. Madison narrowed her eyes.

"Whatever," Madison sighed. "At least you admit it. Derek, don't give her a hard time," she sighed. Allison reared back, surprised by Madison's consideration. Madison's neutral face turned to a darker one as she faced the brunette one more time. "That's my job and I'm not particularly fond of others taking over."

Allison rebuffed her, reminding herself this was Madison she was dealing, the same psychotic, blond bitch who made it her life's mission to terrorize her –_and succeeded_. Madison was the one werewolf who bested her at everything and managed to evade her every time Allison tried to capture her, and turned the tables and made her the prey.

Madison was the ultimate predator and made no effort to hide it and shove it down Allison's throat.

"And what about your mother," Derek retorted to Allison. He shot Madison a serious look

"What do you mean?" Allison shot back. She looked at Scott, pleading for an explanation with her glassy eyes.

"Tell her Scott," Derek demanded, staring intensely at Scott. Scott exhaled heavily as the pressure mounted on his shoulders. Madison removed her grip on Derek and moved to Scott and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"What does he mean, Scott? What does he mean?" Allison begged. Madison sighed and turned to the glassy eyed brunette. She was about to say something as she parted her lips but decided it was Scott's story to tell, not hers, and leaned back to give him the appropriate distance.


	9. Hounds of B HIlls P1-3 (3x03 Fireflies)

_Chapter 3_

_"3x03" –Fireflies / Hunter and Predators _

_Teen Wolf _

Madison was rarely distracted by something about the hours before struck her with a deep, sickening feeling in her stomach. She couldn't shake the image of Derek's devastated face when they recovered Erica's body. She had guided him to the source of the smell –the vile smell of death –to give Scott and Allison space during the talk. The utter heartbreak and guilt brought the Alpha in a rare moment of absolute weakness and he scooped up the deceased blonde in his arms while kneeling down, unable to stand up for a moment. His strength was shaken

She had no idea what to say other than she was sorry but she couldn't speak. It was too tense of a moment. All she could do was come up behind him and help him up and walk beside him in silent loyalty to show him she was there for him. He was grateful for her presence as she offered to take Erica off his hands and bury her respectively.

"It's not your fault," Madison tried to comfort as they approached the others. "As much as you think I blame you, I don't. You may have bit her but it was her decision to stray from the pack –she put herself in danger. It was her mistake, not yours." Madison consoled.

"How'd you deal with...Cecelia?"

"I left my pack to their devices," Madison answered honestly. "I gave them what they needed and let them live their own lives. I couldn't take back the bite but I could pull them out of the chaos, at least, that's what I hoped. They were fine until I got the call from Devon. She was personally delivered on his doorstep, a wire of some sort wrapped around her neck. They really must've wanted her dead. She had her head cracked open, neck split open, and of course strangled. They gave a message and I understood it clearly, which is why I joined the fight. They won't get away with it," she snarled.

"How can you be so…collected…about death," Derek inquired. "She was in your own pack and yet you act like she was just some girl." He shot her a look, examining her response and like her typical manner, she was cold and unexpressive. Her eyes remained solid and clear while she looked ahead.

"You learn to step aside and cut emotional ties. I've done it since I was a kid. I don't get attached and I learn to focus on the future instead of being frozen in the past. It's been tough but eventually now I can do it a lot better than I used to."

She was shaken from her reminiscent trance by Scott's urgent hand slapping her arm. She saw him pointing to the west where Boyd's figure emerged from behind the brush and towards a child.

She saw the pure, concentrated fear in the child's face as Boyd advance, as his eyes widened in terror. It was so paralyzing that he couldn't move, frozen behind the trap of a fallen tree as Boyd made significant distance. Madison was struck with a memory of her child-like self, except in her case she was coated in gore and screaming bloody murder. She would not let this boy become the same and she leapt into action, pushing quickly past the bushes and thorns of weeds. Scott struggled to keep up with her. He knew she was fast but he didn't think she'd be _that _fast.

Scott remembered briskly the memory of her at the Vet's office, talking about the run her ancestors did to captives and how they'd chase them to their death. Did she learn from that experience? He tried to picture her, murderous and cold, tearing into flesh of her terrorized victims but shook off the image –more focused on reaching the defenseless child before Boyd did –or at least, hoped Madison did –but if Madison did first, there was a chance she'd rip Boyd to shred in her blackened wolf form and he couldn't risk that.

He ran faster but even that didn't help him gain as much distance as Madison had.

She heard the boy scream in horror and he began to run, followed by Boyd's wild snarl. Boyd turned his head slightly to see the black ghost of a figure charge at him with lightning speed and he ran in the same direction as the kids. Madison switched course and sped past him, like she was forcing him to a direction much like a pack would do an elk –a predator to a prey –Scott interpreted. He cried out her name but Madison was undeterred, focused intently on something. She rushed to a shed where their scents swirled around and waited outside the door, anticipating Boyd as she snarled her teeth. She snapped her jaw and glared down at the barreling figure and straightened herself out on all four paws, ears flatted against her head, as her eyes pierced the night with fiercest of reds.

Boyd abruptly stopped, noting her reds and intimidating size. The hair on her neck rose, reminding him of a feral beast as she snapped and snarled. Her claws scraped the dirt as she prepared to leap. Scott joined her and realized what she was doing as he, too, smelled the scent of the kids. He didn't expect Madison as a guard dog, he humorously thought with a twinge of criticalness. She always seemed like the kind of leader who'd jump into the middle of the fight and throw the first punch, but he'd seen her capable of much bloodier offenses. Guarding the kids was out of character of her, for him to see, but he had no clue Madison's maternal instincts were as sharp as he talons and teeth. She continued to snap and snarl at Boyd- keeping him at bay he the unknown, imposing Alpha struck a new sense of primal fear to the Beta. She nodded to the door and Scott made no hesitation to bust it open with his fist.

"Hey, hey," he cooed softly. The kids seemed to soften at his human face and jumped into his arms as they saw Boyd in a distance, held off by Madison's figure. They only assumed she was a large dog but misjudged the true magnitude of her size in their haste to escape. "Hold on to me, okay?" Scott urged. They held onto his neck tightly as he heaved him up and went past Madison.

"Your dog," the girl cried. Madison slowly followed, padding backwards on light footing if the scenario required her to jump into action. She ignored the mindless insult of the little girl and continued to entrap Boyd in her ruthless gaze. He backed away slowly, aware of what possible damage the Alpha could do due to natural instincts and the loud growls she projected.

Boyd vanished in sight and Madison ignored every urge she had to chase after the fiend and rip him to shreds just as she had Matt. Scott's frantic expression and the kid's fearfully closed eyes reminded her they needed her protection so long Boyd was still loose.

Scott thanked her graciously while the kids examined her from over his shoulder. The boy –Billy, she thought his sister called him –reached out for her but couldn't touch her. She was stumped to why they weren't scared of her as they were Boyd. She ought to have looked vicious and fearsome –and she was, Scott assured later on, but the kids also noted how strikingly beautiful and big the protective creature was, a "good dog."

"You lost him?" Scott exclaimed over the phone. Even with her canine ears –the ones Billy continued to stroke –and she honestly didn't mind (it kind of felt good, even) she heard his irritation over the poor phone quality. The girl on the opposite side of her stroked her neck and patted down her coarse fur.

"Pretty dog," she cooed softly while Scott distanced himself so the children wouldn't be frightened. In her presence they seemed cool and collected, assured by her protection and size. "Good dog," Billy added from her other side. They leaned on her and hugged her neck, fisting some her long fur into their hands as they thanked her a best way a human could thank a 'dog.'

"What kind of dog is he?" Billy asked Scott. The boy's hand reached out and stroked her muzzle. If she were in human form, Madison would have leered back and questioned whoever taught them to pet an animal –wild or not. "I've never seen one like this before. It's so big! I want one!"

"Mom won't let us have one, especially one this big," his sister complained. "How come he doesn't have a collar? You should have a collar so he doesn't get lost. What's his name?"

Scott glanced at the kids, phone still attached to his ear.

"Uh," Scott began, unsure. "It's a she and her name is Madison," Scott answered. The kids 'awed' at the new revelation and began to coo her name over and over again. "She doesn't like wearing a collar because uh…I can't find a collar that will fit her."

"Well she's a huge dog," Billy inputted and hugged again, "but she's a good dog. I love her."

Scott smiled as Madison tolerated the abuse of the kids coddling her. They awed over her giant paws and lifted them up, ordering _"shake!"_ while the sister asked Scott if she knew the command. She indulged them and shook their hand like she'd seen the average domestic dog do, like Clover would. Scott smiled sweetly as her as Madison took the smothering and whined when they focused on her tail. "It's so fluffy!" They exclaimed and gathered it in their hands. She gave up and laid down, letting him climb over her sturdy body and tugging on her fur.

"Yeah, I kind of had to," Scott finally answered Derek.

"Wasn't exactly the plan," Derek emitted after an unnerving silence. Madison perked at the unusual lenience in his voice and looked at Scott oddly. He shared a similar expression with as he replied to Derek.

"I know, which is why I think we should stick together, trust me, he's too strong, too fast, and-and way too angry for one person to handle. We got to do this together," Scott proposed.

"Why would he be too fast? Madison would chase him down…she didn't hurt Boyd, did she?" Derek demanded. Madison growled lowly at his lack of faith, startling the kids. They inched away from her before reproaching her and petting her softly. She glared at Scott.

"Bad dog," Scott scowled at her.

"What? What dog," Derek demanded.

"Nothing, nothing," Scott dismissed, "just Maddy being her moody self. No, no, she didn't' go after Boyd. She stayed with me. Put a little faith in her. She knows what she's doing." Madison rolled her eyes at the corny sentimentality of Scott's encouraging comments. Of course she knew what was doing. She shouldn't have to be reviewed!

"Look, I'm at the trails at the entrance of the preserve. Can you meet me here?" Derek inquired.

"Yeah," Scott agreed, "just got to drop something off first." He looked down at Madison who jolted up, bumping up against the kids who tumbled under her. They picked themselves up and held onto her back as they looked up at Scott. He cancelled the call and snapped at Madison with his fingers. "Let's go, girl. Let's get these little guys home," he played softly. He grabbed their hands while Madison trotted beside them softly. Billy held onto her back with his other hand.

"You didn't tell us what type of dog she is," the boy said. Scott thought for a moment.

"She's a husky. A really big husky," he replied. Madison groaned internally and eyed Scott unhappily but kept her muzzle shut so long the kids were okay.

_Teen Wolf _

"What did I say about entrances, boys?" Madison called out as both Derek and Scott leapt out of the tree. She had returned from her car in a new change of clothes –she didn't want to be pestered with anymore dog jokes and she sure as hell wanted Scott to pay for them with her fist. "They're unnecessary," she added. They looked at her bewildered. How was it she could beat them here? Was she _that_ fast? Her attire suggested she ought to be a marathoner, adoring muddied tennis shoes, black flexible pants, and a loose baseball style t-shirt underneath her comfortable green AIR FORCE sweatshirt she had stolen from Tabitha's random box of clothes still unpacked in her closet.

She had followed their scent and made a detour to the opening spot where Boyd and Cora's scent intercepted the direct path Derek and his Beta were following. It was simple logistics, as Tabitha would say. _(The mid-transformation Beta was currently resting at home –under Madison's strict orders –probably watching the Law and Order marathon on Netflix like she has for the last two-three days, or maybe she had taken Madison's and began copying down notes from their mutual classes so she's be prepared when she would finally be of stable status.)_ She looked down at the footprint in the mud beside her tennis shoes where the scent was clear as day.

"Is it them?" Scott probed. She nodded.

"We're not the only ones who decided to stick together," Derek observed from his surrounded.

"Is-is that going to make it harder or easier to catch them?" Scott asked.

"Harder," Madison replied before Derek could. Both Alphas shared a look of equal understanding. "They tend to split when they realize they're being chased. Even with our amplified sense of loyalty, naturally instincts give in when we're in danger and we put ourselves first. If we're lucky, we can catch the weakest link that was left behind and I can go for the other one. It won't be hard, I've done it before." She assured with a smirk.

"By 'go' you mean catch," Scott assured uncertainly.

She shrugged but Derek casted a very serious, warning look her way. She groaned. "This is _so_ out of my element _but fine_, I won't kill him –or her- whichever one isn't the loser that got left behind. I ought to though. They're monsters and you know that Derek. We can't keep up in this illusion they can be save, especially tonight, when there isn't an ounce of humanity in them. I've seen what crazed werewolves can do. I've had to eliminate them personally," she warned. "If you need me to, I won't hesitate."

"No," Derek objected loudly but crisply. "No, they can't be killed."

"They can," she opposed, "but you don't want them to because of emotional ties. We talked about this. We can't afford to have our judgment impaired by personal ties." She scowled as did he but deep down under the cold layer in his eyes she knew _he knew _she was right.

Scott decided it was the appropriate time to intercept and stood up, stepping close to the male Alpha cautiously.

"Derek, we saw Boyd try to rip two little kids apart," Scott admitted. Madison knew Scott wouldn't be able to handle it –of course he'd leak to Derek. Madison exhaled. "Are they going to do that to everyone they find?" He asked. His gentle eyes pleaded for assurance but both Madison and Derek knew what monsters Boyd and the other girl –Cora, Derek had confided –became. Scott looked to Madison –she knew from experience, he bet, told from her many ancestral stories.

"Most definitely," Madison replied honestly.

"Everyone and anyone," he admitted. They shared a knowing look, one Madison interpreted as her neutral on the situation –no ties, no connections –with the capability and willingness to deliver the final blow to end it while Derek's determined expression rejected the idea, of him throwing in her face his goal was not intended to end in murder and he'd most definitely find a way around it. She shook her head at his stubbornness as he step-sided Scott and past her.

A shrill scream cut through the air. "Did you hear that?" Madison demanded. Derek and Scott paused and listened as Madison turned around to where she originally heard the shriek. The screaming continued in sporadic spurts. "It's coming for the east," she detected as she started to run. She darted with no reserve.

She was halted mid-way-through her pursuit by the calls of "Emily" and was roughly torn between following the now silent screams to the new series of shouts onto her left.

"Shit," she cursed, looking around but then she realized no one was following her. She was utterly alone. "You got to be kidding me. Seriously Derek, learn to keep up." She was startled to hear the sound of a growl and she smirked. "Found you, little bastard," she chided excitedly. "You're my bitch now." She ran towards the sounding of a growl, as it echoed over the tree tops.

She heard a brawl as she sped closer. The whistle of branches and the wind scathed her ears but she ignored the high pitches as she barreled into the opening of the field. She saw a battle between two werewolves –one smelling like Isaac as she had captured his scent before when she spent the intimate moments with him, holding him during his times of distress, and branding his wild musk into memory –and the other, Cora, who smelled a hint like her older brother, with that hint of ash that would always be deep rooted on them from their traumatic fire. Her fiery feet made a ruckus, capturing Cora's attention. The young, rapid werewolf caught the flurry of long blond hair trailing behind the barely recognizable figure as the green of her sweatshirt blended in with the scenery of the woods.

"Isaac," Madison shrieked furiously as she caught the Beta battling against the female werewolf. Once again, what Scott would call her maternal instincts, were flipped on as she caught the youngest of fighting valiantly. She felt a small glimmer of pride as Isaac struck down the rapid rogue of a wolf onto the ground but Cora didn't stay down for long. The wolf snarled like a cat as he was thrown upwards, hitting a branch painfully loud, and fell back to the leaf littered grown. Both she and Scott intercepted at the same time, as she all but blurred into the opening with unforeseen speed, while Scott leapt over Isaac's fallen body in a high leap. Madison barreled into Cora, pushing her onto the ground with claws extended. Cora shrieked as those lethal claws of hers dug into her shoulder.

Madison was suddenly kicked off of her, tearing Cora's shoulder further into a bloody heap. She groaned at the impact as she skidded across the forest floor and looked around, wondering in her homicidal haste if she was oblivious to Boyd but to her shock, found it was Scott looming over where she had once been, taking over her position opposing Cora. She picked herself up.

She joined the ranks of Isaac and Scott, circling around the raving she-wolf. Cora narrowed her focus especially on the unknown Alpha, weary of her presence. She confused her as _the _Alpha of their ranks, as supported by her protective intent of the younger Isaac. She turned to Madison with a fury, eager to protect her hide against the strongest of the pack but as soon as she connected eyes with the red glare of Madison, her confidence diminished and she resorted to the same survival panic the others in her place before had gone to. Madison recognized the terror and anxiety in her eyes as the weaker werewolf's instincts alerted her to her severe disadvantage.

Derek stepped beside Madison, pushing her back to assert his place the real Alpha of the pack, a motion Cora made aware of but her confusion over Madison's participation was present with her shifting eyes.

Cora took a sudden turn and breached the circle, running for the hills. Madison jumped like a dog would a hare and darted after her prey, Derek on her trail, as Isaac caught up, making Derek the slowest of the three. Derek's growls of warning applied to Isaac who visibly slowed but Madison's instincts were undeniable and the chase brought her back to foreign memories, different woods but same scenario. She kept quiet to unnerve Cora but kept straight as she knew the werewolf would exhaust all of her energy with that quick sprint of her while Madison's marathon days allowed her to endure such speeds at long distances due to her years of built up of resistance and technique trainings –she'd have to thank her gymnastics coach for that, she noted to herself.

"Get her," Derek shouted.

"We're trying but Madison has the lead," Isaac yelled back. "She has a better chance than we do!"

"No," Derek cried out, "get Madison before she kills Cora!"

Isaac realized Derek's drift and started behind Madison, boldly leaping –taking a guess on calculations –and with a stroke of luck, encircled her waist with his desperate vice grip and propelled both of them on the ground. She let out a grunt at the impact and glared at Isaac with cold blue eyes.

"Damn it, Lahey," she screeched. She pushed him off and stood up, wiping as much dirt and debris as she could off Tabitha's sweatshirt from the muddy slide the two took in an effort to sidetrack her. Her hair stuck to her face as some wet mud acted as glue, soiling silver locks of hair. She pulled them off and tried to comb out as much as she could. She turned to Derek in a rage as both he and Scott slowed to meet them. Isaac groaned the ground, not as accustomed to the force of impact as the intensely trained Alpha female was.

"What did you do that for," she shrieked at Derek. "I had it under control! I wasn't going to kill her!" She let out a loud growl and walked a few feet away to obtain distance but turning to Derek. He was helping Isaac help alongside Scott when she redirected his attention to her peeved expression. "You want to talk about trust? You could trust me if you gave me a chance instead of assuming I'm out to rip the throat out of every werewolf I see, but you know what, whoever dies next," she started towards him. "That's on you," she growled. "No more excuses, Derek. Erica was an exception," she took the low hit. It did the job as his frown weighed down heavier on his face, "but the next civilian to die –child or not –that's on you. I'll do my job right if you let me for once," she growled. She stood next to Scott, unable to bear Derek's presence, and looked purposely to the west opposite of him.

A ringing alerted Madison and she searched for her phone, only to discover it wasn't hers but Scott's as he raised his phone to his ear.

"It's Stiles," he told everything before answering his frantic best friend on the other line.

_Teen Wolf _

"You _sure,_" Scott probed skeptically. His bewildered expression clued Madison in on the unfortunate events that had passed. Once again Lydia acted as the supernatural spike for everyone and came across another bloody crime scene. Why was it that Lydia had to be the freakish human who was shoved in the middle of this?

"Yep, throat ripped out, blood everywhere," Stiles' infamous sarcasm spilled out over the speaker. Madison shot Derek a look, her special _I-told-you-so_ expression that he rebuffed with a cold shoulder. "It's like the freaking _Shining _over here. If two little twin girls come out of the woods and started asking me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not going to be surprised." She snickered at Stiles' usual sarcasm. Derek glared at her as if to say _this-isn't-the-right-time-or-place. _She snubbed it with a hair flip –still annoyed at the little, left over dried dirt stuck to the tips of her hair.

"Can you get a little closer just to make sure it was them?" Scott asked.

"It was probably Boyd," Madison whispered to Isaac. Derek overheard and glared at her but she wouldn't be discouraged and continued to whisper her opinion to the eager Beta –hooked on her words. "Cora would be too far away and Boyd had time to gain significant distance, unless it happened a long time before that and then perhaps both participated but I would expect more than just a ripped throat," she sustained. "I've seen others like them rip a person to shreds –I've seen decapitations, mutilations, torn ligaments and even detached limbs. It's not pretty." Isaac shivered at her descriptions and she comforted him –mindless of whether he ruined Tabitha's sweatshirt and her hair. She held him close by wrapping her arm around his shoulder. She fingered the cloth of the jacket and scarf. "I like the look by the way. You look very dashing," she complimented. He blushed and hid it under the hook of her neck.

"Make sure it was them? Scott, who else is going around ripping throats out?" Stiles retorted. Madison nodded.

"I don't know," Derek snidely commented out loud, eyeing Madison, "perhaps a pretty, psychopathic blonde?"

"Aw, you think I'm pretty," she wittingly ignored the jab. Her feigned humored expression fell as she sneered at Derek. "I'll keep that in mind," she warned. "But," she added, pointing at him, "I'm more of a _tear-out-your-intestines-and-snap-your-neck_ kind of girl. Although I have skimmed down on the gore," she continued. "Personally, a simple snap does the trick," she demonstrated as she wrapped her hands around Isaac's neck, curling her fingers around his cheek while her other hand snaked behind his neck and skimmed the opposing cheek. He shivered in fright as her grasp tightened. He gasped in surprised and tried to look up at her with fearful eyes. Derek jolted towards her in a fury but Madison let go of Isaac's neck and tenderly combed through his curls. "Don't worry you're pretty green eyes of yours, Hale. Have a little faith," she reprimanded. "I'd never hurt my little prodigy here," she assured. "He has so much potential that I might actually steal him from you." She kissed the crown of Isaac's head and let him go. Isaac froze in shock next to her, constantly shifting his curious eyes between the infuriated Derek and amused Madison.

"Still doesn't make any sense," Derek cut in after Scott cancelled his call with Stiles. "Public pool is all the way on the other side of the woods." He shot a challenging look towards Madison, referring to her earlier snarky comment to Isaac while Scott was preoccupied with Stiles. "We haven't tracked them anywhere _near _there."

"Derek, they killed someone," Scott exclaimed. Madison nodded along in agreement.

"How are they moving so fast?" Derek argued. Madison sighed.

"If I could run that fast, sure as hell they could, especially if they are driven enough," she agreed with Scott. "Sorry to break it to you but I told you so." She smiled sarcastically. "Happy now," she snorted bitterly. "We could've spared the death toll if you just let me snap that bitch's neck but no…" she ranted. Derek shot her the most ravenous look he could compose and she took the hint, shutting her trap.

"Derek," Scott urged.

"They can't be that fast on foot!" Derek adamantly argued.

"Derek!" Scott persisted, louder. "They killed someone!" Derek looked up, stunned in silence as Madison presumed the denial stage had withered, reality setting into acceptance. "A totally innocent kid is dead," he sprung in the emotional factor, "and it's _our _fault!" He looked at Madison, adding her to the blame. She retorted with an incredulous look.

"Look, if I hadn't ordered Allison to breach it, you two would be dead and I'm not sorry when I say I care –however little I can –but I care somewhat more about you idiots than some pointless civilian." She defended. Scott spurned her excuse and looked back at Derek.

"It's my fault," Derek accepted lowly. Madison gave him a pointed look.

"No it's not," she excused. "It's mine," she acknowledged, "I made Allison breach the line but I'm not sorry about it. We'll just have to catch them before they come across someone else," she assured.

"We need help," Scott proclaimed. She leered back.

"We have help, Isaac and I," Madison added. "4 is better than 2," she motioned to both Derek and Scott.

"And 4 wasn't enough to stop Boyd and Cora," Scott rebuffed. "We need _real _help. They're too fast for us, _all of us," _Scott said especially to Madison. She narrowed her eyes at him, irked by his degrading of her physically capabilities but remained silent. "They're too strong, too rabid…"

"We'll catch them," Derek excused.

"We can't catch them if they're too fast," Madison called him out.

"What happens if we do? Do we hold them down until the sun comes up?" Isaac challenged. Madison motioned to Isaac with dramatic hand gestures.

"He has a point!" She exclaimed, "How have I not met you before? Why are you with these bums?" She held him at arm's length, shaking him lightly. "I swear, you and I could be related…" she mused. Derek growled warningly at her. "Oh please, I'm just enlightening him. No need to be possessive," she chided. She still held Isaac exceptionally close.

"Maybe…" Derek regretfully admitted. "It would be easier to just kill them…" he let his voice carry on. Madison bellowed in what could be described in a victorious glee, startling the others.

"_That's what I'm talking about," _she boasted excitedly. "That's _my element," _she grinned. "_I can totally do that!" _She smiled happily.

Scott leered back, visibly repulsed by her positive reaction. "Killing them is not the right thing to do," Scott objected. Madison shook her head dubiously.

"What if it's the only thing to do," Isaac supported Madison. "If we can't even catch them, what else do we do?"

"It's our only reasonable option," she argued with high, flaring hand gestures. "Don't be delirious. Derek here _finally_ snapped out of his delusion ideas and now you seem to adopt them. There is _no room_ to be _righteous_ here. We have to kill them," she argued passionately. "We're all killers here, and will be at some point."

"Some more than others," Scott countered bitterly. She rolled her eyes while Derek glanced at her.

"And I'm not shameful of it," she refuted back with equal cynicism. "Out of all of us, I have the best survival chances," she threw in his face. "I'm willing to get my hands dirty while the rest of you combat 'moral' issues. You have to realize there is no black and white in life, it's _all_ grey. While you may uphold morals for now, trust me, you won't later on when you realize life isn't playing along with _your _rules," she pushed. Derek slowly nodded along without realizing it, only then acknowledging her concept as a very-real one.

"We have to find to someone who knows what they're doing," Scott declared. Madison scoffed.

"Who," Derek skeptically asked. Madison scoffed and rolled her eyes, muttering incoherent insults but the fact she glared at Scott while doing so suggested a deep enmity towards the Beta.

"Someone who knows how to hunt werewolves," Scott reproached.

"No, _no,_" Madison burst out into a scene. "I'm not working with hunters! I will do it myself if I have to do but if we get any Argent involved –like that little bitch Allison –I swear…. She's not even that experienced! I all but killed her on _multiple _occasions. Who the hell would you have in mind that you're even familiar with that would _want _to help us?" She critiqued.


	10. Hounds of B HIlls P2-3 (3x03 Fireflies)

_PART 2_

_Teen Wolf _

"I can't believe this," Madison grumbled to herself. She sat behind the wheel of her BMW besides Derek's Toyota –which she made a point to _not _look at (disgusted by his choice of vehicle. If it were up to her, she would've kept the Camaro but apparently it wasn't 'practical.' So _now_ the Alpha wants to reasonable…)

She trained her eye on the shadowed figure walking across the parking lot, bags in hand, and she suppressed the urge to growl loathsomely. Her eyes sparked red, alerting Chris Argent as he passed by the unusually familiar BMW, especially since it adorned the same plates. He watched it carefully, trying to look past the dark windshield but the late night cover provided Madison with the right cover. Her eyes retracted back to her stunning blue color and she remained in her seat, eyeing him as he dropped one of his bags in his distracted state. He fumbled with his keys before kneeling down to pick up the bag at his feet.

She took the opportunity to get out of the car quietly, almost silently, and quickly walked across the parking lot, letting other cars provide her cover every time Chris looked over his shoulder to spy on the BMW. He closed the trunk of his Toyota and spun around, gun aimed as he felt her penetrating glare behind him.

"Pun the gun down, Argent," she snubbed, glaring at the device. "I don't like guns," she said coldly, "they offend me. I get a sudden urge to, you know, _rip an arm out of its socket_ every time I see a hand hold one, especially if it's aimed at my face if someone is stupid enough to think they can get away with it." Chris trembled under her ruby glare and he slowly descended the gun back into his holster under his jacket. "Good decision," she chided sarcastically.

She had changed dramatically, Chris noticed, within her months of absence. She was taller, more physically imposing, and her eyes –icy and cold as ever –were sharper, or perhaps it was the way she applied her eyeliner, who knows? Her hair was longer, lighter, and almost silver under the pale moon light. In that instance, she looked very much like her father, striking the same fearsome presence his reputation demanded. Like father, like daughter, he realized. Madison Dubolazov _grew up_.

"What are you doing, Madison?" Scott called out as he joined her side. "I told you we had to be civil!"

Madison eyed Scott, annoyed. "I _was_ being civil," she exclaimed with exasperation. "I was just telling him to put the gun down," Madison explained. "You guys _really_ need to start trusting me," she sighed. She crossed her arms and leaned back as Scott took over, stepping in front of her as if anticipating any harm coming from her –as if Scott could possibly hold her back if she decided she wanted to scratch something (or someone.)

"Do you think this is going to work?" Isaac asked from the passenger seat. He watched as Madison and Scott cornered Chris Argent against the trunk of his Toyota, Madison more so daunting than Scott who was more humble than the Alpha.

"Nope," Derek replied.

Derek watched Madison's body language critically, knowing very well she would snap like she had an hour ago in the woods. It was no secret she _despised any Argent _and knowing Chris personally killed her father –mindless the zombie of a man was now walking amongst them _somewhere_ –Madison wasn't too eager to play part in this. Derek suspected the only reason she decided to hang around was to prove to them her trustworthiness but he also knew her urge to frighten Chris was stronger than her sense of loyalty and that alone concerned Derek. The fact she was tapping her foot in anxiety hinted to him she was itching to do _something _but what? He couldn't be certain. Scott was obvious to her body language and would most likely be too late to stop her if she decided to suddenly strike –she was like that, unpredictable and lethal in her movements.

"Me neither," Isaac agreed. "Something about Madison scares me…" he admitted shyly. "She's sweet," Isaac began but was stopped by Derek's skeptical look. "I mean, she had a gentle touch about her and she's always… babying me… but at the same time, she talks about killing people and ripping them apart…is she always that violent?"

Derek shook his head. "Madison Dubolazov –Do-boo-Do-beau-Do-beau-la-zoo-la-z-oh-v-_Do-beau-la-z-ah-z," _Derek sputtered out what he could of her last name, confusing Isaac, "is a woman of many….abilities. I think deep down," Derek grimaced at the sentimentality of his words before continuing. "She cares. She's quite capable of being the most protective, psychotic bitch you'll meet but that's also that, she's _psychotic _and a _bitch _that _can _and _will _make your life a _living hell." _

"Then why is she sticking around us if she's dangerous?" Isaac inquired.

"'Cause a girl like her is a _huge _advantage to us," Derek replied. "You have _no_ idea."

"And she isn't that bad to look at," Isaac added. He shrugged. "Long blond hair, nice legs," Isaac titled his head slightly to catch the slimness of her leggings, "pretty blue eyes, tall… Does she have a boyfriend?"

Derek slapped him on the chest, _hard. _Isaac winced and looked at Derek, betrayed. "What was that for?" He demanded. "Oh, _oh, oh, _I get it," he grinned. "_You're _her boyfriend."

"We're not dating," Derek grumbled.

Isaac tilted his head. "So she's available?"

Derek turned his head once again and glared at Isaac.

"Okay, um," he veered off to a whisper before regaining his voice. "I'll just ask her later, its fine," Isaac settled. Derek titled his head, as if to emphasize his irritated expression. "Or never," Isaac shied. Derek narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good with never," Isaac supplemented again. Derek nodded along with Isaac as they agreed on the silent pact.

"First of all, why would I care about anyone related to Derek, and second, I don't know this kid Boyd," Chris Argent barked at Scott. "I don't even know his last name."

"Boyd _is _his last name," Scott replied. He lacked the sarcastic wit Madison had, making his sound naïve and adolescent in his typical manner. Madison rolled her eyes. Why did Derek have to send the amateur in? Sure, it was Scott's idea but obviously this kid's gentle nature would not excel him any further. She was tempted to push herself up and take control but decided to wait for a minute, giving him a second chance.

"What's his first name?"

"Vernon," Scott replied, this time with a little wit, as his face scrunched up in a hint of annoyance before it evaporated.

"Eh," Chris dismissed with a side-ways glance at nothing. "Scott," Chris sighed, stepping closer to the boy. Madison growled warningly, almost possessively of the boy Chris interpreted. He wondered if perhaps Madison had taken over the pack and adopted them at her own, knowing very well if she was anything like her father she would never sacrifice her Alpha title –it was too dear to her. He respected her wished and stepped back, lifting his hands in defense as she eyed him cautiously. "I watched my father brainwash my daughter," he began to explain. Madison rolled her eyes, knowing very well where the conversation was headed. "He almost turned her into a killer. That world _–your world –_decimated mine, my wife, sister, father," Chris exerted. Madison looked awkwardly away towards the highway nearby as Scott confronted the emotional situation head on. Madison wasn't equipped for that, especially not with Chris –the very entity who destroyed hers.

Chris continued, "My _entire _family. Why would I ever step foot in it again," he rhetorically asked, not expecting an answer but Scott prepared one.

"Because people are going to die," Scott pressed, "and because you know how to catch Boyd and Cora without killing them." Madison shook her head as she caught Chris's expression –predicting exactly how he would dismiss Scott. She narrowed her eyes at Chris –not sure why she was angry with him disappointing Scott when she did the same but perhaps it was because once again it was Chris's choice –his ability to decide what and who he wanted to pursue like it was some kind of game he could pull out of anytime.

How could Chris walk away just like _that_? Did he not realize what damage he still left behind? He destroyed _her _family and yet he whined about how the life destroyed _his? _His choices ruined her family and _his! His choices! _He ought to take responsibility to them, _damnit_! Madison was _not _okay. She was not okay with this at all, she realized with a burning sense of animosity salient in her glowing red eyes.

She looked away before they could notice the tears prickling at her eyes. Her lips naturally curled as an unsuspecting sob tried to make its way up her throat and she suppressed. She forced to walked

"I'm sorry," Chris apologized as he turned his back. "I can't help you."

"Sorry for what," she exploded. He faced her with a new sense of panic as she strolled up to him with a fury he hadn't seen before. He reached for his gun but her reflexes were quicker and she grabbed the hand in mid-air, twisting it enough that it would halt him but _not _hurt him. Her expression smothered into a colder one and her eyes fell back to an azure hue. "You destroyed lives, Chris. _Your choices_ destroyed your own life, your own family, and most certainly _mine _and whoever else you decided to chase, and now, when it's actually condoned, you decide it's not in your best interest to do what you do best? I wish the rest of us could chose at whim like that but sadly, we aren't rewarded that luxury." They were extremely close and he could see just how hurt she was as his memory was brought back to the little girl who shied away under the arch, covered in blood as her dark hair matted around her blood splatted face. Her voice was colder, harsher, rather than soft and delicate like she had when she was a child. She had changed dramatically and he swallowed painfully, apprehending he did that.

She dropped his hand and turned her back to him, grabbing Scott's arm and pulling him back. He fought and she let go, letting him return to Chris as he pitched his final ploy.

"Do you think you could do me like one tiny favor?" Scott pleaded. Madison sharpened her eyes in skepticism, wondering what Scott McCall had up his sleeve. Chris looked strangely at him before giving in.

"Sure," he stressed, waving Scott in the car after Scott suggested a ride. "Madison, I think you should come, too. We need to talk."

"About what," she growled.

"You know what," Chris said.

She narrowed her eyes at him, catching his drift before violently shaking her head. "No, I don't know where he is and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you," she assumed. By the way his eyes locked, she guessed correctly. "You already destroyed my family once. I won't let you do again. Piece of advice –lock your doors. I may not be all that forgiving but I'm a hell lot more generous than my father, taken into consideration what you did to him." She hissed. She turned her back for good on the shaken man and recoiled back to her car. Both Chris and Scott watched the ghost of her silver strands swaying across her dark sweatshirt, the only thing distinct about her while the rest of her attire and physique allowed her to blend into the darkness acutely, disappearing altogether.

As she approached her car, she noticed something different. The smell was… odd. She didn't remember it. It reminded her of fresh dew and soil, much like her mother's when Aubrey went out to the Garden as often as she did. She lifted her nostrils in the air, collecting the scent into memory, before examining her car. Derek watched her briefly as he passed her, more intent to pursue Scott and Chris behind Chris's SUV than whatever musk Madison was consumed with.

She caught Derek's license plates leaving the facility and hurried into her car, pressing the start button and accelerated onto Derek's tale. Her bright headlights illuminated his back end, catching Chris's attention as she spied her white car behind him –again, supporting his assumption she had somehow overpowered Derek in his position and taken over the pack like a protective Alpha. She sped up beside Derek on the 2 lanes before popping in front of him in a slick turn, tailing Chris who paid no attention to the black Toyota behind him –assuming it to be unrelated.

The Toyota slowed as they approached a crime scene, littered with police tapes and inter-blinking red-and-blue lights. Madison parked beside him and shared a knowing look with Scott who peered over Chris to glance down at Madison's low profile BMW.

"Did they do this?" Chris demanded. He looked down at Madison, only catching a glimpse of her hair as she tried to lean out to the passenger side. She decided to get out of the car instead to come up to the window, ready to meet Scott halfway. Chris looked hard at her with critical eyes.

"I don't know for sure," Madison honestly answered. "The chlorine is really messing up my smell. Scott, we need to hurry. We can't waste any more time," she prompted urgently as her nostrils shriveled up in disgust at the high concentration of the pool. "Man, they need to ease up on the chemicals. We only put about a quarter of that stuff in our pool," she complained. "I'm getting a migraine from this stuff."

"Where is the last place you saw them?" He asked her. Scott smiled at Madison from behind Chris, grateful she came through. She gave a curt nod his way, acknowledging his gratitude.

"Follow me," she prompted.

_Teen Wolf _

"Tracking them by print?" Chris asked. They had entered into the clearing and when Scott assured this was the last-know-location, the retired hunter dropped his carrier bag full of weapons –odd he had kept them but Madison shut her trap as a favor for Scott who was ecstatic his little empathy-tugging-the-heart-strings plan had worked. She kept her distance away from Argent as her sour sentiments towards the man didn't diminish in the slightest and he, too, kept his space, fully aware of her reservations and respected them.

"Trying to," Scott asked.

"Well then you've been wasting your time," Chris shot down as he glanced at the print –and the smudge mark he realized was Madison's –comparing it to the huge dark mark on the left side of her torso. "There's only one creature on earth that can visually track footprints," Chris declared. Madison stiffened in her stance and glared at Chris, expecting exactly where he was going with this. "And that's man," he stated. Madison bit her lip to hold back a retort for Scott's sake but she couldn't repress that urge to make a face blatantly disregarding any credit to this man. No human, she believed, could ever claim such a notion –that they triumphed over _something _in the natural animal kingdom. Man was on the lowest of the pyramid –weapons aside, but then again, that was her political belief and she had a right to her, as Chris had a right to his delusions.

"And if you're not trained like me, you have no idea that this print is Boyd's and these-"

Chris was cut off by Isaac that pointed at the same footprint as Chris at his feet. "-are Cora's," he assumed. Madison shot Isaac a look, slightly amused by his casual stature leaning against a tree. Isaac looked at her, catching her stare, and was slightly intimidated by her proud, straight pose, standing among the heights of Derek and Scott equally almost.

"Nope," Chris corrected, "they're yours." Isaac's face fell at the blow to his pride and ego. "You trampled Cora's as soon as you walked over here," Chris explained. He turned to Madison. "These ones here are yours," he also pointed. "You have the smallest of the bunch and I'm guessing you're the only one wearing Nikes." Madison sighed. She looked down at her muddied shoes and shrugged. She could wash them later. Those were her cheaper pair anyways. Like hell she'd wear her favorite baby blue ones out when there was a chance they could be shredded.

"Listen," he began strictly, "I know 3 of you are focusing half your energy on resisting your own urges under the full moon," he looked at the males but glanced at Madison, serving her a slight smirk as they mentally agreed on something the others were in the dark about. Derek looked at her strangely as she grinned at all of them before her face fell to all seriousness when she reconnected with Chris's light blue eyes. "But that puts you at a severe disadvantage to Boyd and Cora who'd fully given in. They put the pedal to floor when you three are barely hitting the speed limit."

"Why do you say us three and leave Madison out?" Isaac inquired. Madison smirked and kicked some dirt at her feet before winking at Isaac mischievously.

Chris nodded knowingly at her. "Our little Alpha here has more tricks up her sleeve than you do. She –just like father –is capable of being the fiercest force we will ever see in our lifetimes. I don't know how but something in her bloodline distinguishes her as having a significant advantage over all of us. She could easily outrun all of us, most females from her line do, while the men tend to the strongest anyone have ever seen. She's a blessing in disguise for you guys –and an utter nightmare for others." Chris tilted his head at her while she grinned victoriously, amused by his narration and the wicked looks of her fellow witnesses around her. "Which prompts the question, why did you hold back? You could easily catch them on your own –why didn't you?" He demanded.

"Because," Derek replied. "I know what she's capable of and I don't want her to kill them. That's the only thing she knows what to do. She almost killed Cora if it wasn't for Isaac and me," he referenced to the earlier two times when they had to throw her off, one at the campsite and the other in pursuit. "Madison isn't in as much control as everyone thinks she is."

"Speak for yourself, Hale," she sneered. "I'm perfectly in control. I was just doing what should've been done but for your sake, I'll let you crash and burn so you can learn your lesson," she sneered. Chris looked between the two Alphas suspiciously. This was the most unusual dynamic he had ever seen –two alphas within the same proximity was one thing but a _Volkov _and another Alpha who was of a much weaker bloodline was a whole different story. He narrowed his eyes and favored towards Madison who he knew would be able to pull off a takeover –she had the mental tools to manipulate just like her witch of a mother, the physical advantage over Derek –including strength as he'd seen her take down a full grown as a mere child –which required the utter ruthlessness Derek lacked.

Derek noticed Chris's inquiring look and what about to ask something but Madison's glare shut him up.

"First thing, you two," he pointed towards Madison and Derek, "need to sort things out. You can't second guess each other. I understand it's difficult with having such dominant personalities but the two of you feuding won't get you anywhere. You're too busy fighting amongst yourselves, getting nothing done, but if you two joined efforts –truly joined –you can accomplish a lot more than you expected to. Madison here with her manipulation and psychosis –she knows how to predict movements accurately –and you, with your strength and numbers of your pack would combine into success with the proper planning and execution."

Madison and Derek exchanged knowing looks –very familiar with this conversation but the uncertainty still lay in their eyes and the distance between them remained.

"Second point," Chris directed. He pointed to Madison. "Focus on your sense of smell. Madison, your father was the best damn tracker I've ever come across, and I have no doubt you inherited that advantage, but you're too accustomed to sight and hearing to guide you. You need to rely on smell first, hearing second, and sight as a last resort. That's what he did and that's what made him lethal." He directed to the other three. "Actual wolves are known to track their prey up to a hundred miles day by scent," Chris informed. Madison nodded along. She had received a similar lecture by her own family when they were harnessing her abilities –focusing on her keen sense of smell that Sloane inevitably passed down to her. She was molded into a tracker –as each member was divided into categories to fit their skills. She wanted to be offensive and be first to fight but she noticed that was mainly reserved for men –the biggest brutes she had ever come across –but she was given the honor as a tracker alongside her cousin. They were treasured as key factors of success –if she could get to the enemy first and alert her side, they'd be given the advantage. Her participation was crucial.

"A trained hunter can use scent to track them," Chris added. "If the wind is with them, wolves can track a scent by a distance of 2 miles, which means we can draw them to us, or into a trap,"

"You've done this before," Scott announced, looking at Madison. She nodded. Chris's expression hardened as he realized her training was far more than just training. She was officially one of them now –a killer, a hunter, _a Volkov. _"You said you chased down enemies through the woods before…" Scott dragged one. She nodded.

"_Shut up, McCall_," she suddenly cut off. Scott gulped and nodded furiously along, knowing well her infamous mood swings tended to be a bit on the extreme side.

"The Full Moon does give us one advantage," Chris started again as he tossed Scott a rope. "They'll have a higher heat signature, which makes them easier to spot with infrared. Madison noticed the various different devices to Isaac before she diverted her attention to her own skills. Her senses heightened as her eyes inflamed to red, allowing her to see much farther than the others as she picked up on various scents.

"Thanks but I got my own," Derek dismissed one of the gadgets in his hands. Chris looked to both red-eyed Alphas, more disturbed by the brightness of Madison's as she scanned around for clues.

"Madison, I highly suggest you remain in human form," Chris suggested seriously. She turned to him, eyes blue again. "I've seen what you can do in your other form but that's not _you, _that's the beast and we can't afford having it be unleashed again." He cringed as he remembered what little remained of Matt, intestines splattered around him in a messy display. The gore was even harder for Chris to stomach than most cases he's come across.

"I got it under control, Scott can vouch for me on that," Madison assured. She dedicated most of her time in Russia for that problem alone and now she was grateful she could manage having conscious control over the large, wild beat that lay dormant inside her. Scott nodded.

"She saved two little kids," Scott detailed, surprising Chris. He looked to Madison whose eyes glimmered a bit with empathy –the same empathy a child would bestow on another –and he caught the link to why she would do a thing like that.

"I'd still feel comfortable if you didn't revert to that around me," Chris asked.

Madison grinned. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Just remember we're not hunting wild animals," Chris warned to the others. "Underneath those impulses are two intelligent human beings. Don't think they can't rely on that human side. It's suppressed but _it's there_, reminding them how to mask their scent, how to cover their tracks," Chris pressed, "how to _survive_."

_Teen Wolf _

"When was the last time you saw your sister?" Chris asked Derek.

"Not in years," Derek solemnly answered. "I thought she died in the fire."

"Do you feel like you have a lock on her scent?" Chris looked over his shoulder from the city's lights. Madison looked down at her bloodied, muddied nails and brought them to her nose, remembering she had inflicted those claws into Cora's shoulders. She inhaled it.

"Smells like you," She told Derek, catching Chris's attention. "She has a certain hint of metal –an iron like odor – I'm guessing that's from the bank, with a touch of sweat and grime. I guess it's a given, with her living conditions…" Derek shot her a cold look, eyeing her bloodied nails.

"You hurt her," he growled.

"I just swiped her shoulder. She'll live," Madison excused. "How is it I have a better lock on your sister's scent than you do," she chided, "her very own brother?"

"Maybe because I didn't attempt to kill her," Derek sneered. He grabbed her hand and hesitantly sniffed the tops of her fingertips. He noted the red stains lining her palms as well and dragged his nose across those. Scott and Isaac exchanged a look. As well as Chris who was slightly disturbed by the intimate move between the two Alphas.

"Have at it," Madison commented awkwardly. "It's all her blood." Derek growled lowly as a warning but Madison didn't care.

"Scott," Chris asked, turning his head in the other direction, "how confident in your skills?"

"Honestly," Scott thought, "most of the time I'm trying not to think about the things I _can _smell."

"Madison," Chris asked her. "You seemed to have a lock on Cora's scent."

"And Boyd's," she added. "The boy reeks. I couldn't miss him for a mile. His stench is repugnant," she sneered, recalling only an hour or so earlier how he bombarded her with his disgusting odor. Chris smiled in almost a proud way, ironic given he wanted to exact opposite from Sloane's daughter –knowing how dangerous she could possibly become –but perhaps her most lethal weapon could be of use to them.

"Alright, the problem is when they breach the woods they hit the residential area," Chris explained. Madison looked towards the lights of the city below them with critical eyes, retracting her hand from Derek's clutches. "Once they pass the high school, they're right in the middle of Beacon Hills.

"They're not going to kill everything they see, are they?" Isaac asked, alarmed. Madison rolled her eyes and turns to the Beta.

"We've been over this, Isaac. Yes, they _will," _she pushed with vibrant red eyes.

"No," Chris contradicted. Madison steeped back in alarm and stared at Chris incredulously, "but there is an important difference to recognize." He turned to Madison and she shook her head, confounded by what point he was trying to make. "Wolves hunt for food," he explained. Madison nodded along, agreeing so far with his point but still confused at what the overall message was that we was trying to send, "and at a certain point they get full. Boyd and Cora are hunting for the pleasure of the kill." He looked at Madison sternly.

"It was a _phase," _she defended her actions, "and I had my reasons. It's not like I went off the rope. I killed with _purpose_, not for pleasure. Trust me on that." She recalled the tremendous weight of guilt that overcame her after each kill, how each violent stroke added more to her conscious until she hated even the thought of killing. That was when she was a little girl though. Now, she was all but accustomed to being indifferent and logical in each scenario, pushing aside any emotional ties to avoid those obstructing forces of empathy again.

Chris returned his firm gaze back to the younger Beta's, ignoring her harsh glare. "There's some primal apex, predatory satisfaction that comes from the ripping of warm bodies to bloody shreds, and who knows when that need gets satiated."

"It doesn't," Madison answered honestly. Chris shot her an alarmed look. "I have control, but I've seen others similar to their circumstances that all but loose it. I've seen them do despicable things to humans –and although my empathy capacity is low –they massacre to a point that even I cringe at." She winced as she tried to picture just how brutal it truly was.

"We can't kill them," Scott pressed adamantly, opposing Madison's stance. Instead of futilely arguing, she shot Chris a look begging for validation. All he did was nod along but his words contradicted his supportive gesture.

"What if we can't catch them," Derek accused. Madison shrugged.

"We kill them," Madison declared again. "I can catch them. I can kill them. There won't be any blood on your hands." Scott replied with a heated glare in her direction.

"Maybe we just need to contain them," Chris suggested. Madison leered back. "There's no one in the school at night, is there?"

"Want to trap them inside?" Derek asked.

"Of course, dumbass," Madison retorted. Derek glared at her, too, but she ignored both of the boys' glowers and remained firm on her stance.

"Yeah, at somewhere with a strong enough door," Chris explained, "no windows or access to the outside."

"Basement maybe," Madison suggested, narrowing her eyes. "It's under the ground and to support the school it would have to be a strong, concrete structure."

"What about the boiler room," Isaac clarified, agreeing with Madison. They shared a knowing look, smiling slightly at each other, very much in sync. Derek noticed and stepped closed in between them, almost threatened by the connection of the two. "It's just one big steel door," he described. Chris looked back at Isaac, regaled by the idea.

"You sure the school is empty," Chris put out there one more time, cautious to verify.

"It has to be," Scott guessed. Madison wasn't so sure but said nothing. If someone was in the school, well then, hey, it was in the middle of the night, why the heck would they be spending their nights –especially this late of an hour –at school? If they got killed, it was for the benefit, she tried to coax herself into thinking. They wouldn't have much of a life to enjoy if that's what they did. She shifted her feet nervous, rolling her ankles and stretching her toes as if to distract herself. "There can't be anyone there this late, right?"


	11. Hounds of B HIlls P3-3 (3x03 Fireflies)

_PART 3_

_Teen Wolf _

"These are ultra-sonic emitters," Chris explained as he plunged the metal stake into the ground. She casted an inquiring set of glowing eyes at it, weary of its purpose but listened intently anyways. "It's one of the tools we use to corral werewolves, pushing them into a direction where we want them to run."

"I just had a pack to chase them before we circled them," Madison reminisced. Then men shot her a surprised look. She looked at each gaze –realizing all their expressions matched –displaying mortified faces directed at her. She shrugged unabashed. "But like you said," she began, "these slow pokes wouldn't be able to catch up, at least, not like my cousins could."

"How many cousins do you have?" Chris had to ask with a stumped eye. She grinned.

"Well, I only met a few –and that was, like, ten," she drifted. Her eyes wandered to the sky as she tried to picture each individual face.

_Vera, Darya, Marx and Irina_, she started with her fingers. A set of red heads followed by a young set of brunettes, all of the bright blue eyes came into mind. Those four were the more docile of the others, having only participated or phased onto once or twice, rather, fancying more private affairs with the isolated family alongside their mother, Anastasia (or "Ana" she was called commonly) on the country side than the whole of the group.

_Then there is Peter, Stefan, and Tamara_, she remembered the oldest of all the children from the legacy of Edik. They came from his bastard child –and unnamed, deceased boy who was often ostracized by the others (even her dad, Luca confided, as Sloane was bitter about Edik straying from their beloved mother) –from a 'whore' _(as those times deemed the selfless young woman by the name of Daphne)_ but they by far were the strongest she had seen. Peter and Stefan were of the tallest she'd come across, and one of the strongest. She was intimidated at first before their feisty sister –of the same age as Madison –joined in and made Madison comfortable within the group. Tamara was the fastest she'd known of when it came to her species –of her family. Tamar wasn't a tracker like Madison was though. She was a runner, someone who got to the source after it was found and made the first move –paralleling well with Tamara's jump-in personality.

_Then there's little Sofia, Rob, and Boris!_ She waved her palm in an effortless manner and let it drop to her thigh. Sofia was only 6, while Rob was 10, much like his brother Boris. The two were opposite though, as Rob was predicted to be a runner, and Boris a brute much like his father, Luca.

"Go on," she directed Chris, not giving him a lick more of information that he could possibly use against her –against her family –she didn't trust him at all and would not let her guard' down. He nodded hesitantly before tapping on the metal's cap. It unleashed a high frequency that prompted Madison to wince, sensitive to the whine and squeal of the noise. She covered her ears and furiously waved for Chris to shut it off.

"Oh God, ow, that's... strong," she shook her head as he tapped it off. "That's really…"

"Sensitive," Derek suggested. Madison glared at him as Chris's voice brought them back to discussion.

"It gives out a high pitched frequency," he motioned to Madison, "only they can hear. Some are more," he looked at the aggravated blonde intensely, "sensitive than others." She scowled at his input.

"No kidding," Isaac exclaimed, reacting just as strongly to the noise as Madison had.

"Give a girl a warning before you shoot that thing," she barked as she massaged her ears. "I think you really impaired my hearing. Ouch. It'll take me a while to recover from this one," she murmured.

_Teen Wolf _

"These are going to drive them to the school?" Derek asked as Chris handed him two. Madison and Isaac were still flustered with their sensitive hearing, massaging their temples and eyeing the stakes wearily.

"And then it's up to you to get them to the basement," Chris added.

"I can do that," Madison grumbled. Derek shot her a dirty look.

_It's a team effort, _he reminded her. She rolled her eyes.

_I'm just helping here, _she retorted.

"Does anyone want to rethink the plan where we just…um…kill them?" Isaac suggested. Madison raised her hand next to him as Chris handed Scott a pair of the stakes.

"That sounds easier," Madison chimed in.

"It's going to work," Scott declared. He was the naïve faith in this stupid plot, Madison thought to herself. `"It'll work," he repeated to the others. Isaac examined the stake in his hand, while Madison examined hers. She refused to get her hand anywhere close to the trigger button and threw it up in the hair like a baton, catching it as it descended.

"You and me," she motioned to Isaac with a wagging finger, "we're heading together," she said, linking arms. He smiled while Derek glared.

"Madison, you're coming with me," Derek demanded. She groaned.

"I like this boy," she objected, pouting her lips. She disheveled Isaac's thick curls and pecked his cheek. "He's adorable. I want to stick with him. I may even adopt him," she teased. Isaac blushed.

"You're coming with me," Derek repeated, harsher. She rolled her eyes. She pecked Isaac on the cheek one more time, enjoying the heat of the blood pooling around at the area of his blush.

"Another time, Isaac," she cooed before unlinking arms and joining Derek's side. Derek used his hand and pushed her ahead of him towards the direction he was heading. Madison rolled her eyes. "So possessive," she teased. Derek growled lowly. Isaac looked at the pair and the light bulb lit up in his head. He grinned knowingly while Madison looked over her shoulder and wink at the younger boy. Derek pushed her harder, further, and she grudgingly obliged.

_Teen Wolf _

"If you're going to be with me, you better learn to catch up," she chided, racing ahead of Derek, spike in hand. He tossed one of his up at the tree over her head, stabbing itself into the bark.

She slowed down as she caught a familiar scent intersecting their path. Her eyes lit up red, identifying the source, and she suppressed a growl. Derek stopped at her side, sensing something wrong.

"And the hunted becomes the hunter," Peter's voice radiated nearby. She turned to see his shadowed figure emerge from the break of conjoined trees, leaping over the stump and towards them. Her figure stiffed, as did Derek's who seemed to be surprised by his appearance.

"Do you really think some high tech dog whistles are going to help?" Peter sneered as he approached.

"You seem to forget they have my aid," Madison added much to Derek's relief of her affirmation of loyalty.

"But how long will that last, Madison," Peter tested. "You're always after your own agenda," he described, knowing very well it was Derek's subconscious doubt about her. Madison knew what he was doing and growled, not appreciating his not-so-subtle way of dividing the strength of the two Alpha's alliance.

"We share a common enemy, Peter," she retorted. "So long they exist, I'll help whatever way I can." Derek looked at her with grateful eyes, smiling behind her but she didn't catch his gratitude as she continued to glare at Peter. "Now you have 30 second to tell me what you're doing here and where the hell my father is before I chase you down and get rid of you for good, you son-of-a-bitch." Peter gulped as respectively stepped back as her anger peaked. "You manipulated me to get to my father," she accused with narrowed eyes. The ice blue of her orbs ignited to the bloodiest of reds, illuminating the dark night, reminding him of a frightful image –the Hell Hound like her father, of what her family was known to be. "You unleashed Hell's fury but not just that, you dug up my _dad, _desecrating his grave, and complicating my life even further. He's wandering around here somewhere stirring up old problems I've gotten past. The only manipulator that gets to walk out of this clearing _is me_," she snarled. Derek held her back with a firm grip on her wrist, tugging her backwards into his safe, steel hold. Madison's claws extended much to Derek's anxiety.

"I don't see you offering a hand," Derek scoffed.

"Personally, I'm trying to cut down on futile endeavors," Peter bit back. "Madison would have done the same but I guess she's mellowed."

"On contraire," she seethed. Her eyes remained a furious red as Peter walked around Derek, keeping his distance from the fiery blonde.

"Cora is alive," Derek shot back as his motivation.

"I heard," Peter grumbled. "Let's throw a reunion part when she's not an unstoppable killing machine."

"I can stop them." Derek hissed. His grip on Madison's wrist tightened.

"Sure you can," Peter sarcastically retorted, "by killing her. Isn't that what little Miss Russia here has been advocating all along? She may be young but she certainly knows her stuff. She's added quite a few kills of a similar nature onto her lovely resume of expertise." She was unmoved by his jest and continued to stare at him with murderous eyes. "Which happens to be the point of this little exercise," Peter began to explain, enticing Madison's ears. "Deucalion wants you to kill them. He wants to get rid of his baggage making it easier for you to join his pack. The fact it was supposed to happen in the vault and not up here in the open doesn't change his plan, it just means Boyd and Cora," he glanced at Madison momentarily, hoping she had calmed but her eyes were vividly red. "-are going to kill a few innocent people first," he shakily finished, unnerved by her burning stare.

"And I should just let them," Derek retorted sarcastically. "I should be okay with innocent people dying?"

"Unless you're okay with killing your own," Peter chimed.

"Can I just kill him now?" Madison seethed. Derek pulled her in closer, wrapping both hands around her arms and pressing her back to his chest. She trembled in violent anticipation against him.

"I can catch them," Derek persisted adamantly. "We can catch them," he corrected, motioning to Madison with a downward glance.

"Oh come on," Peter exasperated. "Of course Madison can catch them. She's her father's daughter –she's faster than any other werewolf I've seen but she's not naïve like you. She may be going along with this plan for now but it's in her DNA to kill, that's how she was trained, and that's how you're _supposed to do it_. She knows just as well as I that Cora and Boyd ought to be dead right now. And beside the point, how much damage can they really do?" He theoretically posed. "So they off a few homeless people," he depicted.

Madison took a deep breath to keep calm but the urge to pull from Derek and slice at Peter's throat was too tempting –even for her amount of control.

"A drunk stumbling out of a bar too late," Peter continued, "so what? Let Scott deal with it. Let him be the hero of his moral and black-and-white world with some survivors. You," he looked at both Alphas, "we live in shades of grey. Then again, even if you did kill them, you're still an Alpha. You could always make more werewolves," he suggested.

Madison broke Derek's hold in his distracted, distressed state and barreled into Peter. He cried out in shock as she tossed him onto the ground –stronger than before. Canine's bared, she roared loudly –outdoing any predator within the forest. A blur of moon silver hair was the last thing he thought he'd see but the pain he anticipated never came.

He looked to the left where he heard her screaming and cursing, fighting against something and assumed his nephew had pulled through but that assumption was shattered when he caught his nephew's terrified expression. Peter lifted his head to the right and his heart stopped in utter horror.

Madison struggled in a pair of chalky, strong arms, kicking for what it seemed like her life, tossing her head back violently as if it would harm her attacker's chest it was futile. His hand slipped around her neck, tenderly touching her small throat before pushing his thumb into the side of her neck. She cried out loudly at first at the pressure he was applying before her eye lids fell over her fear stricken pupils. Her head fell forward, hair slipping past her shoulder and falling over her face. Her struggling body went limp and the figure adjusted his pose so she'd lean on his arm rather than fall forward awkwardly. The figure laid her down on the ground and pushed back her hair to tenderly glide his index finger over her soft, cotton like cheeks.

"She looks a lot like her mother," he commented as he stood up to his full height. "She was beautiful and my little one inherited her gentle face." She glanced at the two horror-stricken Hales who recognized him immediately.

"S-s-Sloane," Derek stuttered out. The tall blond haired nodded approvingly. Derek saw the resemblance immediately and gulped. The moon-pale man possessed same cold blue eyes that struck like lightening in the middle of the night, as his light hair was pushed back, damp and dirty from what seemed to be from water –a shower perhaps? His attire was modern and dark, with simple jeans and a black double breasted coat, unbuttoned and dirtied with splatter of mud or perhaps something worse –but Derek doubted it was blood because he couldn't smell it.

Peter seemed to be utterly petrified of the man while Derek tried to see what was so imposing about the slender man –he didn't have much muscle mass under that coat, he suspected, and the only reason he would be nervous about the great, mysterious stranger was that he was Madison's biological dad –and who knows what he'd do when he found out his daughter was sleeping with him. He suppressed that thought –almost scared Sloane could hear him think.

"You must be Derek Hale," he assumed, pointing to the younger Alpha. "Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Sloane, Sloane Dubolazov, and you've acquainted yourself with my darling daughter," he looked down at the limp body at his feet, "Madison. I'd hate to cut this short but unfortunately we must be going. If she's anything else like her mother, she gets cranky when she's awoken from an untimely nap." He picked her up caringly, slipping his hands under her knees and another around her torso. Her head rested on his chest, breathing in his scent, and unknowingly relaxed within his presence.

"It's quite sad when your own daughter can't recognize you," he murmured. "We'll see much of each other later, I assure you," he promised the two other boys. Derek wasn't sure to take his smile as friendly or fiendish but either way, he didn't have much time to argue before Sloane disappeared into the darkness.

"That, Derek," Peter breathed out, in shock, "was the great Hell Hound." Derek kept looking out into the darkness, unable to comprehend the short but significant experience.

_Teen Wolf_

Madison woke up in a daze, not quite sure of her surroundings. The green walls reminded her of home, as did the door length mirror parallel to her. She looked closer at the detail, more and more so attuned to the different articles of décor that reminded her so much of her redecorated room. The same white dresser, the lace of her new canopy decorations, and, of course the hanging photographs of Tabitha and her traveling around Europe. She especially favored the one photo of the two on the yacht at a French lake, hair free flowing and barely covered in a skirt and bikini tops –the freest time she could remember for the two of them.

"Whoa, whoa," she shouted out, scrambling out of her sheets. She tossed the thick comforter off the bed and onto the floor in her haste. She looked down at her outfit –the same army green sweatshirt and dirt ridden tights reminded her of the past events and she looked around for some sense of sanity.

Everything was the same but she couldn't pinpoint how the hell she got to her room or where (or when) she blacked out. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were worn and tattered, and her shoes were missing –probably because she tossed them somewhere at the front door if she had walked in.

She searched for her phone, finding it on her dresser, and searching from Derek's contact. She called once, no answer, and again, no answer. She switched to Scott –same response with _no _response. She resorted to Stile last. She collapsed in her bed, clutching her aching head as she waited from him to answer.

"Madison," Stiles answered.

Madison gave out a huge, audible exhale, unable to conceal her relief as the overwhelming emotions weighed her down. She felt tears breach through her blurred sight, further impairing her vision. She held back a choked sob.

"Where's Scott? Is he okay? Did you hear from Derek? Nothing went wrong, right? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" She shot off rapidly. Stiles' paused for a moment, taking in her panic.

"Scott's with me. Here, talk with him," he switched.

"Madison," Scott eagerly opened. "Where were you? We couldn't find you! Derek said you ran off!"

"I…don't know…. I don't lose control Scott," she flooded. "I don't lose control. I worked on it but I can't remember anything since we all parted to stick those stakes. It's all black!"

"What are you talking about?" Scott pressed. "Madison, are you all right?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No, I'm not," Madison replied. "Is Derek okay? I didn't hurt him, did I?"

"No, you didn't hurt anyone. Derek's okay, Cora and Boyd ripped him up a little but he's okay."

"He's not mad, is he?" Madison whimpered.

"No, not at all," Scott answered. "He doesn't seem mad. Where are you? Are you okay? Do you need me to get you?"

She looked around. She couldn't say anything else without possibly getting her in a bad situation and decided to end the call. "I'll talk to you later Scott," she ended before tossing the phone on the bed. She pushed back her hair with her sweaty palms.

"Dad," she called out as she poked her head through the door. The hallway was dark and unlit. "Dad," she cried louder. Frank and Trevor should be home, she assumed, so why weren't they answering? "Dad," she cried out frantically. She scurried out of her brightly lit room and down the curved staircase, holding onto the railing tightly as she flashed onto the main level where the kitchen was brightly illuminated. "Dad, Dad," she repeatedly yelled. Tabitha joined her side, grabbing her arms to calm her as she darted out from the archway to meet the panicked blonde. "Tabi," she screamed, holding the brunette for dear life. "I don't know what happened. It happened again, I blacked out, and I don't know what happened or if anyone got hurt," she sobbed. Tabitha held her close, letting the terrified blonde cry into her shoulder.

"You didn't hurt anyone," Tabitha assured into her shoulder. She held her tighter. "I promise you, you didn't hurt anyone." She clawed her fingers into her long blonde hair and soothed her back reassuringly.

"I stopped you," another voice intervened. "I stopped you from killing another or possibly yourself." Madison froze at the stranger's voice and veered around in a defensive mode, baring her teeth and flicking out her claws ready to fight but froze on sight as she examined the illuminated man.

He stepped down from the chandeliered archway, letting the light beam down on his light pale hair. His grey-blue eyes bore into hers –much like she remembered, always soft and gentle with a hint of his infamous smile. Her lips quivered, trying the smile but her mind kept repeating to her that it was all a mirage. Frank stepped out behind him, barley reaching his shoulders, and sent Madison a confusing, mixed-signaled smile that did its job as reassuring her he was all factual. She felt a sob bubble up her throat and she felt faint on her feet.

She shook her head adamantly. "You're dead," she exclaimed, "how," she stuttered, leaning back to Tabitha who held her up as her Alpha's emotional state crumbled into a heap of sobs. She tried to protect herself, reminding herself it was too good to be true, and that he wasn't there and she should give her hopes up –that this wasn't real, but he looked so physical, so tangible, that with one leap she could pull him into her arms and feel his strong hold, his masculine scent that reminded her of the protector he was to her as a child.

The panic set in again, worse than ever, as her lungs felt like they were being squeezed. She struggled to breathe as her face burst into red. Her eyes welled up, spilling tears before she could wipe them off her face. Her lips wobbled loosely, as they tried to make a shape but she was too incoherent to form words or shapes.

But, he was there, just like her memories –clear as day, strong as his cologne. She couldn't help it. Her child pulled out of her and she couldn't help but cry out in pure joy and unadulterated bliss just as she had as a naïve little girl when daddy came home from work. Her feet started running before she could notice and felt the impact of his hard body as she grabbed him with all her might, pulling him closer, tugging on the fabric of his shoulder and crying out into his shoulder.

He was as strong as ever, holding her up, lifting her off the ground and letting her feet dangle over the air, flaring, as she recoiled into his firm grip.

She cradled her face into his neck, holding him dear and breathing him in. She struggled to breathe evenly, shaking and trembling as she felt the strength drain from her body.

"_Daddy_," she squealed before falling into a heap of childish sobs. "_Daddy_," she whimpered. "You're back," she cried out.

"I'm back, baby girl," he assured. Sloane felt his eyes prick with emotion as he finally got to hold his child one more time –his only daughter –the one he remembered covered in blood and smoke when he last saw her. She was alive and well –beautiful and bright –with her mother's soft, angelic face and her father's bright, bubbly eyes lighting up as soon as he approached her.

"My cheeks hurt," she cried out. Her cheeks ached as she continued to burble into his padded shoulder. Trevor caught her glistening eyes on camera as he zoomed in with his Canon, catching the memorable moment. Frank shot him a disapproving look.

"Of course they are," he assured. He tangled his fingers in her hair, holding her closer to him than ever possible. "Oh sweetheart, I thought I'd never see you again," he murmured into her shoulder. She clutched her fingers together behind his neck.

"Daddy, you were dead," she blubbered out. "I'd never see you again. I miss you daddy." She tightened her hold, refusing to let him go. Tabitha separated herself into the kitchen to let a few tears of her own seep out –moved by the stunning reunion as her Alpha received the one thing she thought Madison would never see again. Madison smothered cries still echoed throughout the hallways.

"I know, baby girl, I know," he cooed, rubbing circles in her back.

"Don't go, please, don't go," she pleaded, resorting to her four year old self. "I-I-I can't take it again. Don't leave me again, daddy." Sloane felt a tear slip down his face –admitting his own weakness –as he heard her plead and beg, as if she never changed or grew at all. All he heard was his little girl crying out for her father and this time he would damn well do something about it. He smoothed down her hair and kissed her temple.

"I'm not going anywhere, baby, I promise," he vowed, meaning it one hundred percent. "I'm not leaving you again. I swear it. I won't let anything happen to you."


	12. Monsters & Mayhem P1-3 (3x04 Unleashed)

_Teen Wolf _

**Part 1**

_3x04 "Unleashed"/ Monsters and Mayhem _

"So, is there any reason why you wanted me to drop you off early," Sloane inquired lightly, smiling at Madison. They settled in Trevor's bright red Mercedes, parked outside the school. Sloane fumbled with the shift stick, not quite used to the set-up of the car, while his other hand rested on top of the steering wheel like most men do. Times had changes and the new cars nowadays were nowhere close to his old Dodge. She vaguely remembered the iconic Charger, only having ridden in once, as Aubrey much preferred to have Madison strapped into her Volkswagen.

"I have Cross Country," she explained. "With Track on hiatus, I need to find an alternative to Cross Country seemed like a good option. Also I just wanted to catch up with Scott and Isaac. After you knocked me out last night, I left them hanging and with Derek not answering my calls, they're my only source of information." Madison explained. She gathered her backpack and extra bag of clothes, expecting to change out of her running gear in the girl's bathroom shortly after. She tied her baby blue Nikes one more time and opened the door, heaving her backpack over her shoulder.

Tabitha got out from the backseat, Swiss bag in two and slung it over her shoulder.

"Thank you for the ride, Mr. Dubolazov," the Latina appreciated. Sloane smiled at Tabitha, grateful of her manners and politeness.

"Madison," Sloane called out. She turned, brushing her long pony tail off her shoulder as she spun to meet his cheery eyes. "This Derek boy, the one you were with last night, I expect to hear more about him," he teased, grinning. "Just because I've been gone for quite a while doesn't mean I'm going to give you break on the topic of boys."

Tabitha snickered behind Madison, amused by the sudden switch of conversation. Madison shot her a playfully cautionary look, raising a skeptical brow defensively. That prompted Tabitha to hiss some more laughter, awfully concealing her pleasure.

Madison unleashed a loud laugh. "Dad, I assure you, he and I- it's _nothing,_" she teased, waving a hand effortlessly. "Keep on laughing, missy," Madison cautioned playfully, "and I'll give you something to laugh about."

"Uh-huh," he nodded skeptically, eyeing her. "That's what they all say but you have no idea, do you?" He smiled warmly. "Anyways, I have to go to work now. Have a great day, sweetheart."

He grinned at the special bond between the two girls. They were sisterly despite their biological division. Tabitha brought out a part of Madison –the caring, loving, light hearted girl he always imagined her to be –just with her loyal companionship alone, while Madison provided a sense of security and strength to Tabitha –a girl who was so deprived of female companionship and understanding before they were acquainted. The two were good together. They reminded him of his Beta –Luca –and how they were close once, joking around like brothers ought to, before things got tough and tensions rose.

"We'll talk later and you _better_ be home or else I'm going to be heartbroken," she ordered but her light tone concealed the desperation and yearning her inner child felt on the matter. Sloane nodded. "I love you, Dad," she bid, closing the door. He rolled down the window as she parted from the car, stepping over the curb,

"I love you too, sweetheart, take care," he called out. She smiled as the car rolled slowly away before accelerating at the turn into the main highway.

"I'm going to go into the school and unload some of this into my locker," Tabitha explained as they parted ways at the front entrance. "I believe I'll see you in…" Tabitha thought for a second, "is it free period? And English, too, since we share the advanced class, and I think that's it. I already transferred my economics credit and I achieved my math requirements," she narrated. "Okay, okay, I know, I'm keeping you. I'll let you go. You're in a rush I bet. I'll see you later!" Tabitha rambled off. Madison waved good bye as she jogged towards her side of the school.

Tabitha skipped off in the other direction, eager to cross the necessaries off her mental list while Madison only had one thing in mind.

After shoving her bag into her locker, Madison adjusted her pony tail and stretched out her tank top, so it wouldn't ride up. Her yoga shorts weren't of the matching blue color as her top. Instead they were a faded black –one of her lazy pairs she picked out from the laundry room downstairs. They were shorter than what she usual wore so she tied her hoodie around her waist to cover her rear from any prying eyes and headed out.

She made it just in time as the whistle shrilled into the air. She followed the trampling of feet, coming up behind the mixed group of kids and integrating easily. She followed the boys' scent as she kept to the left, avoiding any contact with the others that were closely knit together. It was easy to pick them out as a whole but harder to isolate different scents –especially Isaac's –but she spotted him ahead, diverging off the regular course, catching her attention. She slowed, letting the others speed ahead, leaving her in their dust as she watched for any others to establish a pattern –and sure enough, McCall in his black track jacket.

"You got to be fucking kidding me," she murmured to herself. She bolted forward after them, turning sharply at the corners, gaining more and more speed to shed the distance between her and the others. Scott must have noticed her on his trail and he stopped, only having to wait a second for her to be parallel with him and he jumped to match her frantic speed.

"Where's Isaac going," she demanded, at a loss of breath.

"He's going after the twins," Scott stuttered out, he, too, out of breath as they pushed their limits. He was losing her, as she continued to speed ahead. She glanced back, slowing down only for a second, before prioritizing Isaac and looking forward, pushing full speed ahead. Her hair whipped against her bare shoulders and the wind pushed back her loose strands belong to her side banes, flatting them over her head.

With her heightened hearing, she heard a grunt –Isaac's –and a tumble. Her heart jumped and she focused intently on her sense of smell, guiding her North down a curved dirt road, Scott not that far behind her.

She caught Isaac's thrashing figure locked in tight, inescapable grip of the duo Alphas. She saw red, as her eyes visibly brightened to the murderous color, establishing her true identity but the twins were too occupied taunting Isaac with some sick joke of "how many bones are in the body," frightening Isaac, not realize she was there overlooking them.

She snarled like a bear, roaring loudly, enough so they looked up in surprise at her bright blue figure hurtling down the curve, dirt flying behind her. They only got her thin physique and wispy fair-haired locks barreling towards them before one of them was knocked to the ground, pulling him away from Isaac violently as he connected with a nearby tree. He groaned agonizingly at the impact, wincing at his shoulder when it stung excruciatingly when he moved it slightly.

"Let him go," she demanded the other. His dark eyes widened at the new revelation –as the pretty, tall blond who flirted with him wasn't just a girl but an Alpha herself, as her once 'docile' blue eyes blazed to ravenous red orbs, "or I swear, I'll give you the most painful memory you'll live with it –_if_ it's not your last," she seethed. Isaac looked up at her, awed and indebted to her sudden heroic appearance.

The other one was so in shock, he didn't see McCall coming and landing a powerful punch to his face –invoking a loud, cringe worthy thus of bruised bone. Madison smiled approvingly and glared down at their incapacitated bodies. They suddenly rose from their positions, circling around the female alpha and her alliances. She raised her head in pride and extended her claws from her hand.

A shrill scream pierced the air, abruptly stopping all of them to turn to the direction of the shriek. Madison's blazing eyes evaporated into her casual blue as she spun around to the source. Isaac grabbed her hand, as did Scott, who led them away. Madison, as if to claim him under her protection, shrugged her arm around Isaac's shoulder and glared at the twins who darted past them. They took identical boys notice and shared a look.

_Teen Wolf _

She smelled the blood instantly as she approached the scene, ahead of the others. She scrambled down the incline, careful not to lose her footing, and braked in front of the tree where the other students circled around. She pushed past the hoard and stood up front, taking in the bloody sight.

A familiar student –one of her fellow seniors –was held up against a tree by a cord–she soon recognized it to be a dog leash –around this throat, blood gushing from the same area and onto his clothes. Some blood was smeared behind his ears, which Madison wouldn't have been able to explain due to the lack of opportunity to inspect closer. By the time she even noticed the smears, the Sheriff and his deputy had cleared anyone else, her included. Sheriff Stilinski urged her aside, as she was one of the closest to the body.

"Dad, just come her, look, _look_," Stiles frantically urged as he ushered his father closer to the body. Madison listened intently as she distanced herself from the scene, stepping back in small footings. "Same as the others, you see?"

_Strangled, throat cut, and bludgeoned, _she thought to herself. _Same as Cecelia, _she mournfully thought. She looked at the twins through the hoard, eyes sharp and narrow like slits. They felt the burn of her glare and fixed their gazes from the tree to her.

There, she saw it, the similar bewildered expression she showcased along with her peers, as if one of them, with no clue of the happenings. This unnerved her and she turned her head, letting her long hair go from her pony tail to curtain her face. Her long banes rounded around her head, concealing her eyes under their protective shade. 

"Yeah, I see that," she heard the sheriff gruffly reply. "Do me a favor & go back to school, _now_," he ordered. "Coach," the sheriff directed to Finstock, "give us a hand here?"

"You heard the man, nothing to see here," Coach Finstock yelled. "Probably just…some homeless kid," he insisted ignorantly. Madison turned her head again to get one last glimpse of the twins,

"Coach," McCall insisted softly, "he was a senior."

"He was in my Calculus class last year," Madison added sympathetically. The coach looked at both of his students and groaned loudly.

"He wasn't on the team, was he?" The coach dared to ask. Madison shook her head, astounded by the lack of knowledge before a shrill scream –louder than the previous one –alarmed her, impairing her sense of hearing momentarily as the girl continued to shriek. Madison turned her head towards the body.

"No, oh God, no," the blonde girlfriend –Madison suspected –lashed out, fighting against officer holding her away. "Oh God," she cried out. Madison winced and followed Stiles up the hill, away from the chaotic center of the scene.

"See the way the twins look at him," Isaac began, joining the small group alongside with Scott as they descended down the hill. Madison nodded,

"Yeah, you mean like they had no idea what happened?" Stiles clarified. Madison took lead, followed by Scott as Stiles and Isaac fell back into some sort of line –much like the dynamic of leadership –with Madison and Scott competing for first spot.

"Nah, nah," Isaac stuttered. "They knew," he accused, staring at the Alphas as they passed them on their journey down.

"The kid was strangled with a garrote," Stiles exclaimed. "Am I the only one recognizing the lack of werewolf-attude with these murders?"

"What, you think it's a coincidence? They turn up and people start dying?" Isaac retorted.

"Well no, but I still don't think it's them," Stiles started but Madison cut him short.

"Cecilia was a werewolf and they killed her," Madison retorted heatedly, spinning around, prompting all of them to stop behind her. She glared at Stiles. "This isn't just a coincidence. I have to agree with Isaac here. _Maybe _they had nothing to do with this one, but I doubt it," she snarled. Stiles stepped back, still weary of the temperamental Alpha.

"See, she agrees," Isaac gestured to Madison with a short arm flail. "Scott," he pressed as they stood at a standstill, "what about you?"

Madison looked at the torn Beta as he stood between the two rivaling boys. Stiles crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Scott while Isaac looked almost innocent with his inquiring gaze. Scott turned to Madison for guidance but she shook her head, refusing to pull him out of his own mess.

"I don't know yet," he settled uncertainly. Madison rolled her eyes.

"You don't know yet," Stiles repeated almost mockingly, obviously disapproving with his tense stature and intercrossing arms. Madison matched his pose almost unconsciously, curious herself.

"W-well he's got a point," Scott defended Isaac, gesturing to the taller Beta with a hand gesture while staring at Stiles directly. "Seriously dude," Scott coaxed as Stiles' gaped, astounded by the turn of events. "Human sacrifices," Scott emphasized to under-exaggerate the term.

"Scott," Stiles persisted, "you're eyes term into yellow glow sticks, okay, hair literally grows from your cheeks, and then will immediately disappear, and if I were to stab you right now, it would magically heal, but you're telling me you're having trouble grasping human sacrifices?"

Scott heaved internally, conflicted as he turned from Stiles to Isaac, dark eyes pleading.

"That's a good point, too," Scott admitted to Isaac.

"I don't care, right," Isaac rejected. "They killed that kid and killed the girl that saved me," he firmly believed. Madison nodded along silently, receiving acknowledgment for Isaac who nodded quickly in recognition, "and I'm going to kill them, too."

Madison jolted up, staring at him with wide blue eyes. "Oh, no, Cubby, you can't do that," she urged, leaping to join his furious stride. "You're delusional. You can't take them on, not yet," she persisted. Stiles and Scott stayed behind, watching from afar as Madison tried to coax Isaac out of his fury. Her blazing blue figure circled around his red frame as he stormed further out, with her right on his tail.

_Teen Wolf_

It wasn't until AP English when Madison heard from Derek again. She was trying to focus on Mrs. Blake's lesson as she got in the deeper themes of Heart of Darkness, lining them down with even spaces on her page with visual diagrams –because let's face it, enough was never enough for the perfectionist of Madison Dubolazov.

A sudden picture of a familiar Alpha crept into her mind in a sudden rush, like he was charging at her, but it wasn't her –it was someone else. A sudden cry of "wait" echoed throughout the hazed vision. Another figure intervened, meeting the large Alpha halfway. She recognized the smaller figure as Cora, but she wasn't wearing her usual garb –instead she looked like she had been exercising in sweats and sports bra –prompting Madison into panic mode as she realize this was the present. Cora was slammed onto the ground with a painful thud and Madison cringed, almost imagining the pain of the shock.

"Ms. Lundgren," Ms. Blake noticed. Madison had her eyes squinted, as if she was trying to focus elsewhere. The class turned to look at the pained blonde. She looked up at Ms. Blake and shook her head, already anticipating any answer. "Are you okay?"

Madison continued to shake her head. "No," she whispered at first. "No, not at all," she expressed, louder. "Can I go to the bathroom please?" She groaned, feigning a stomach cramp. Ms. Blake nodded. "Thank you." Madison gathered her bag and hurried out, trembling with an overload of emotions, fear being one of the most prominent.

A vision of another red-eyed Alpha –the sole female –made an appearance, the same one the mystery girl depicted in her memory she sent to Madison moments before the link cut. Madison hurried to the doors, opening them and exhaling at the sensation of the brisk wind on her face.

_Teen Wolf_

Derek's face swelled and stung at the direct hit to the jaw. He barely recovered as Kali continued to assault him with the metal weapon. He was forced down by the impact onto the ground, falling with a loud thud as her body bounced lightly off the floor. Kali came up behind him, plunging the make-shift weapon into back. His muscles screamed in protest, aching and throbbing, while the burn of the pipe spread from the source, weakening his torso. His hands trembled and arms shook under him as he tried to keep himself up so the wound wouldn't get worse.

"Everybody done," a new presence spoke. Derek's spine tingled in dread and swelling anticipation as the infamous Deucalion came forward, tapping his cane in their direction, "'cause just listening to that was exhausting," he jeered, allowing his foreign accent to slip through. "So," he began as he sat down in front of Derek, enjoying the front seat of the action. Derek lifted his head as much as he could to get a glimpse of this infamous figure, surprised by his casual attire of a light-tan sweater and jeans. "Let's chat," he taunted, smirking down at Derek as if he could really see him.

Madison was rushing through the streets, making it past the green lights thankfully, when Derek sent her that last image. It the same guy the girl had sent her, the one with the aviator sunglasses and the walking stick in hand. Her fingers tightened around the wheel, even more apprehensive and anxious as before.

"Sorry about this Derek," Deucalion apologized but nothing in his casual tone implied any sincerity. Derek twitched at the sight of blood under him, more and more concerned about the growing pool while his strength diminished. He pleaded to fate that Madison would come soon. He knew if anyone could, she'd be able to take down Kali –but Ennis? He wasn't quite sure. Madison was sneaky though. He was sure about that. She'd find a way to take Ennis down and free Cora, and with that element of surprise, she'd take Deucalion and Kali off guard. It was one of those instances he didn't mind her psychotic tendencies and eagerness to kill –he wouldn't mind if she all but slaughtered the bastards –so long she helped clean up the blood.

"I ask Kali to be gentle but…" Deucalion further mocked.

"This _is _me being gentle," Kali sneered, maneuvering the pole upward to enlarge the gaping hole in his back. He groaned excruciatingly.

"Let her go," Derek pleaded. His voice shook as he glanced at Cora, who remained in Ennis's large, steel like grip. In a moment of rarity, Deucalion allowed the compromise and twitched his fingers towards that direction, motioning for Cora's releasing. She rolled away and rushed to Derek. He shook his head furiously, whispering "no" frantically because that's all the strength who could muster. He lost so much blood that even speaking exhausted him. Cora stopped, hearing his weakened voice and looked on from her spot hopelessly as she watched her older brother die it seemed like. Her eyes welled bitterly with warm tears.

"See, we're not unreasonable," Deucalion insisted.

"What do you want," Derek struggled to say. The pool under him was expanding, touching his fingers and coating his palms with the red substance. "You want to kill me?" He boldly accused, looking up at Deucalion with livid eyes.

"You really think I'm that boring? Don't throw me in with sociopaths like your uncle," he scorned. "I'm a man with far more vision than simple murder. In fact I'm here to show you just how much vision a blind man can have."

Kali pushed the pole further, prompting Derek to a whole new level to agony as the metallic taste of blood pooled into his mouth. He gasped, letting some drip from his lips and onto the pool of blood under him.

"You're killing him!" Cora yelled angrily. Kali wagged her finger spitefully.

"Not yet, little sister," she teased, "but I could. Who knows if it's five minutes," she taunted, pulling the pole in a painful manner for Derek, "or five hours before it's too late to take this thing out." He sputtered out more blood as she rolled the pole in a circular motion, prompting another wave of agony for Derek. "But just to stay on safe side, Deuc, you might want to get to the point,"

"Now you see the one problem with being in an Alpha pack," Deucalion jeered, clapping his hands in annoyance, "everyone wants to make the decisions. Me? I'm more about discovering new terms, like you."

"Not interested," Derek sputtered.

"You haven't even heard my pitch," Deucalion countered.

"You want me to kill my own pack?" Derek assumed.

"No, I want you to kill one of them and do that and I won't have to ask you to kill the others. _You'll do that on your own_," Deucalion clarified, "with exception of that blonde one, what's her name, Madison?" Derek stiffened. "You know who I'm talking about, don't you? Ennis told me about her and I couldn't help but be curious. I mean, this girl, younger than you, able to toss an Alpha twice her size? By all means I'd be interested in her, but when I discovered her origins to be true, well, I can't have her alive –her kind, they're dangerous," Deucalion lowered his tone severely. "She's not supposed to exist. You and I both know that."

"On contraire," Madison announced, surprising all of them. Kali turned to the archway where Madison descended down upon. Ennis growled and she in return snarled. Her blue eyes blazed into a fiery red. "I was planned," Madison quipped before turning her attention back to Ennis. His eyes matched her own.

"Ennis," Deucalion demanded. Ennis understood his order and charged at the girl. She stepped to the side slyly, as he fell forward at where she used to be. He spun to correct himself and reached out towards. She snarled at his hands and grabbed them in an unexpected turn and pulled him forward, tossing him to the ground and holding his arm up at a painful manner. "One move," she sneered, "and it's broken in half. I'd highly suggest you stay still," she warned. Ennis froze on the ground as she loomed over him. Her eyes looked around but some nothing in reach and decided her foot would do just of much of a job as any other blunt-force item and brought the heel of her shoe up only to smash it upon his cranium, satisfied with the crunch it prompted. Ennis's arm fell as he slipped into his subconscious. Cora watched with wide, horrified eyes at the brutality of the blonde, wearing the same expression as Kali as she watched the largest of the Alphas be subdued by a girl half his size.

On outer appearance, Madison didn't seem like she would dare to do such a thing, not in her attire –with leggings and a loose pink transparent tunic, made to fit her slim waist with a wide, leather waist belt buckled together. Derek knew better and smirked to Deucalion, knowing the tide had turned.

Madison took slow, deliberate steps towards Kali, wearing a blood-curdling smirk only she could pull off –the same one Derek recognized the eager expression to kill as what normally would be a bad thing, he smirked, knowing Kali would meet her own match.

"I see you have your hands full," Madison sneered, tilting her head at the bloodied pool and descending her gaze Derek and noticed the abnormally large pool of blood under him and the blood smeared around his lips as he looked up gratefully at her. "You have one chance to pull it out," she motioned with a nod towards the pole, "before I rip you apart," she smirked. Kali smirked back.

"Back off before I kill your boyfriend," Kali threatened. Madison rolled her eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend," Madison exasperated. "Fine, if you want to play it dirty, I will. In fact, it's my favorite game," she teased, winking. Kali was taken aback by her attitude and watched as Madison backed up –only to figure out she was walking closer to Deucalion. He listened intently to her footsteps until she stopped in front in him.

"You must be a sight," he thought out loud. "I've heard tales of your father and your mother. I heard she was stunning. You must look like her, do you?" He mused with a grin.

"Sorry to say," Madison said with no remorse or sincerity, "but I look too much like my father. Oh my, I forgot my manners," she mocked, "I'm Madison, Madison Dubolazov. Obviously you heard of me but you can quite trust the rumors," she smirked.

"Can I…?" Deucalion stretched out his hand, allowing the back of his finger to feel the few close strands of her silver blonde hair near him. He twirled the strands around his finger. "You have the softest hair," he mused.

"Maddy," Derek croaked. "Don't…" he warned, worried Deucalion would use the distance to pull her in a dangerous proximity and possibly inflict harm in her. Kali felt uneasy about how willing Madison stepped into the possible trap. Something up with Madison's casual demeanor, she suspected.

"Thank you," Madison accepted graciously. She stepped forward and he used the distance.

"Your skin is like velvet," Deucalion commented, "and I can tell you have your father's sharp cheek bones," he added as his fingers trailed the outline of her face. Her hand stuck like snake, lying in wait by her hip seemingly harmless until Kali caught the blur of her hand too late with her horrified dark eyes and watched as her hand wrapped around his, the moment before his claws could extend and mar her face.

"I'm not an idiot," she assured Deucalion with blaring red eyes, "whatever game you want to play, I can play it better," she mocked, glancing at Kali with malicious grin. She brought up her other hand at lightning speed and snapped his wrist in half and bent it an abnormal angle. He shrieked out in pain and tried to grab her with his other hand but she had already maneuvered behind him and used it other uninjured hand and brought it behind his head.

She suddenly bit into the flesh with her sharp canines, sinking them deep into his arteries and they spurted with blood. She retracted her fangs but kept her blood coated hand on his, while his other injured hand withered beside him.

"Told you Kali," she sneered, looking down at his bloodied arm. "Two can play at this game but I'll always come out on top," she snarled. She looked down at Derek and back at Kali, purposely constricted her forearm around Deucalion's throat. His disfigured hands were still trembling, attempting to heal after she shattered his wrist with a painful break against the desk edge. She and Kali continued to glare at each other, with Kali just as cold and dark hearted in her gaze as Madison –except Madison's icy blue eyes added a burning, penetrating sensation that stirred Kali more than what she'd like to admit. Madison tilted her head, prompting Kali again with a glance down at Derek –kneeling in a pool of his own blood, spreading farther.

The large one had finally came to, grabbing his aching head as he scrambled up. He had watched the scene with wide eyes, bewildered and horrified by the unexpected turn of events. Deucalion "Why isn't he healing," Ennis snarled.

"You assume he's stronger than me," Madison started to explain to the woozy Alpha. "Enjoy the nap? Anyways, going onwards, you assume he's strong than me –when you truth you have no idea what I've done or committed. I should also disclose my mother's talent to manipulate health was somehow intertwined with my lycanthropy. My saliva has the ability to speed healing, but also the bacteria within in has the capability to slow the process," she grinned at both Alphas and then down to Deucalion who weakened in her grip. "Sometimes it's painless, most of the time it's painful. It's a trick I picked up in my travels."

She looked down at the bite on Deucalion's arm –the same one she inflicted to subdue him. It was red and bloody, tainting his grey sleeve with the rich bodily fluid. "And this one doesn't look good for him," she smirked. "Oh boy, I'm going to enjoy this. Let me tell you a brief story. You see, because my father was Russian, naturally my blood grants me immunity to certain… infections… but also grants me the opportunity to host them, much like the Europeans did to the Indians when they came to the New World. I only recently discovered this when my Beta –someone who's linage comes from a small sea-port city in Venezuela –came down with a sudden sickness I didn't have a clue of. She fell fairly quickly, enough so, that she with hours away from death, pale, doused with sweat as her body's last attempt to fight the pathogen but even that wouldn't help her –luckily my relatives stepped in just in time with a family-secret remedy but you see, whatever this pathogen is –it's lethal to Lycans such as yourself."

"You're lying," Kali snarled.

"Look at your Alpha," Madison challenged coolly. She glanced down at Deucalion, who paled under her malicious glare. "Does he look like he's normal? Wouldn't he be fighting back? Certainly this scrawny man in my arms isn't the same blind man who slaughtered his own Betas." This caught the other Alphas' attention and they glance tentatively at each other, acknowledging her point.

"That's why you're so scared of me," she murmured to Deucalion. "You knew that already. You want me gone because you know I'm one of the few natural predators that can out-do and eliminate you from the equation –and let me assure you, I'm just as ruthless as my father and his father and those before him –and I'm just as willing to do it. Don't be mistaken by my age." She dug her claws into his shoulder to keep him in place. He fell back and rested limply on her shoulder, paralyzed with pain and throbbing. She turned her attention to Kali.

"All I'm asking is for you to let go of Derek and I'll let go of this imbecile," Madison jested. "I always make good on my deals," she teased with a smile. "I promise," she dragged on. Her sarcastic smile sharpened into a smirk. Kali growled loudly in response. As if to demonstrate, Madison tightened her hold on Deucalion, as well as swiping her claw down his cheek, smirking maliciously as the possible intent she had in mind, unnerving Kali. "I've killed before –plenty of times –just like you –with no preference. This guy here makes no difference. All I have to do," she teased with her finger tracing his throat, "or perhaps," she used both her hand to encircle Deucalion into a headlock. "One swivel motion and he's dead."

"So is Derek," Kali snarled, angling the pole painfully for the subdued Alpha. Derek choked out another mouthful of blood. Cora cried out.

"Stop it Madison," Cora shrieked. "You're hurting him!"

"Shut your trap, amateur," she scowled at Cora. "Keep quiet," she put her in her place, "and let me do the politics." Cora quieted down but continued to shake in terror at the possibility of Derek actually dying at Madison's risky tactic.

"Or, I could give you the antidote for exchange of Derek," she shrugged casually. Deucalion's eyes widened, hearing the key word and turned his fearful gaze back at Kali.

"Let him go," Deucalion spat out, "let him go. Give me the cure," he sputtered. Kali was taken aback before sliding the pole out. Madison grinned victoriously, her teeth glistening white, taunting Kali with her superiority. Derek toppled over into the puddle, joined by Cora who cradled his head in her lap. Cora shot a grateful look towards the cold blonde as Madison continued to stare down Kali.

She released the weakened Deucalion onto the floor where Kali scooped him up, alongside Ennis, his folded cane in hand. Madison walked past them with an over confident stride before glancing over her shoulder to look at them.

"You want the cure?" She repeated, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes. "Come back to me in 24 hours. If you aren't dying, you're fine, maybe you're one of the lucky ones and fought off the pathogens before they could infect you, but here's the thing, I can't administer the antidote to you unless you're _really dying_ or else you'll **_die _**from the 'antidote,'_" _she narrowed her eyes. Deucalion was caught in her ghostly eyes, captivated by the mystery and possible history behind them –behind her blood and origins. She was the manifestation of a legend, of a nightmare, one of the last._ "_Both factors neutralize themselves," she elucidated, "but alone, they're both lethal. My bite can kill, but is deactivated by the cure, but the cure itself can just as much obliterate you. The extreme of each element is quite powerful." She smirked.

"_Now scram_," she demanded loudly, sitting upright. Kali winced. "Before I decide to use you mutts as my personal scratching posts," she snarled. She stepped aside to watch them scurry along outside, battered, bloodied, and bruised. She turned to Cora who smiled graciously despite the bitter tears welling in her child-like eyes. "Don't thank me now," she demanded harshly. Cora winced at her tone as Derek faded into unconsciousness in her lap. "I got somewhere to be. One of _his _is _stuck _in _another _situation and I have to bust his ass out," she grumbled, rushing out. "When he awakes," she said once more, stopping to spin around and face them, "tell him I'm really tired of being the babysitter."


	13. Monsters & Mayhem P2-3 (3x04 Unleashed)

**Part 2**

_Teen Wolf_

"Are you okay?" Allison had to ask. She tried to be sensitive to Isaac –knowing very well the two weren't of good blood –and she admittedly knew she had to make amends but she wasn't quite sure how, so perhaps being kind of them would soften the tension enough so that it would be comfortable.

Isaac on the other hand was anxious. The tight space reminded him of his not-so-long ago past and instinctively tenses at the tight situation. It didn't help Allison had bumped into him, reminding him of the closer quarters. To be honest, Isaac wasn't all that spiteful –Allison was the last of his problems –but he also wasn't a forgetter, and knew very well she did him wrong just as his father had, making the current situation even worse.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just," Isaac dismissed, focusing on stacking the shelves with random items, "not a big fan of small spaces," he dragged on, letting his voice fade.

"Can I ask you a question?" Allison requested. The air was still too tense for her.

"Do you have to," Isaac retorted bitterly.

"I guess not," Allison accepted, knowing full well he was allowed to reject her. Still, though…she thought to herself. "I'm going to ask anyway," she announced, cheerful, hoping it would lighten the mood. "Did you tell anyone I was at the school the other night?" She asked in a serious manner.

Isaac stopped his work. "Was I supposed to?" He retorted but he was trying to be considerate so he lightened his tone.

"I'd make me really happy if you didn't," Allison pleaded, smiling in a way she hoped he interpreted at friendly and harmless.

"Yeah, well, you being happy, he snipped, "isn't really a big priority of mine since you stabbed me… _twenty times….with knives." _Isaac had to be honest, no matter how friendly and kind she was trying to be, it didn't erase the fact she tried to kill him –and the gall of her to not be open and apologize for it? It reminded him of his dad and his inexcusable behavior and how the bastard thought he could make it out to be like it never happened the next day. To be completely honest, it made Isaac feel like shit.

"They were actually Chinese Ring Daggers," Allison corrected, "but…sorry." She finally muttered awkwardly. It seemed like he dismissed it with he sighed disinterestedly, interrupting her. She fretted over his reaction –knowing this moment would be the reveal and whether she could redeem herself of not. She tensed with anticipation.

"Was that…that an apology?" Isaac retorted with a shrug, half in belief she actually apologized and another doubting it was actually a sincere apology, suggested by the casualness of her tone.

"Would you accept an apology?" Allison asked earnestly, optimistic about her chances. She smiled lightly.

Isaac scoffed more so to himself, refocusing on the items in the boxes behind him again.

The door unexpectedly slammed behind them and Isaac jumped, startled by the noise, and his panic rose as he realized he was trapped in. He rushed to the door instinctively, pulling on the handle and trying to push it open.

"No, no, no," he began to panic. His protests alerted Allison as she came to his side to assist.

"Uh maybe it locked from the outside," she suggested.

"No, there's something against it," Isaac guessed as the door refused to budge. He jimmied the knob hopelessly, rejecting the thought of being trapped in hopes it would deter a panic attack but it was futile as it began to bubble inside of him, boiling to a point where a panic attack was bound to erupt.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay…" Isaac frantically repeated, trying to find some sort of solution but all he had was his sweater in his hand after he peeled it off to release of the heat rising under his skin –It didn't help

"Okay," Allison said simultaneously, trying to do the same thing. She was in a calmer mind set –as her father had taught her –but she could very well see Isaac was anything but as he paced in circles. "Uh, alright, just relax," she tried to coax him, "Isaac, relax."

He leaned against the door, pounding against it, hoping someone would hear from the outside and get him out. Allison continued to repeat his name frantically behind him. He could hear the fear in her voice –was she scared of him? Or was she scared for him? Allison could only keep her distance so she wouldn't elevate the situation to a high level by smothering him –he needed space, whatever he had of it.

Allison jumped back, terrified, as he burst into shrieks of rage and terror, mixed into one singular voice she didn't think a kid like himself could make. Memories of being confined, of being locked in with no help or way of escape –the utter hopelessness and isolation –overrode his sanity and he descending into a state of primal panic, letting his inner beat seep out from inside in his moment of pure vulnerability.

_"Isaac! Isaac!" _

Madison couldn't miss that shrill voice anywhere and all but flew down the hallway where Allison's screams were mixed with Isaac's primitive growls. She knew the out-of-place pop machine up against the door was a clear sigh something was awry and pulled it aside, letting it glide over the floor like paper with her brute strength. She tore the door open, grabbing Isaac's collar from behind and forced him out with the same amount of force. Scott had come from behind, a minute too late, and slid past Madison to check on his beloved Allison while Madison guarded the transformed boy lying on the floor.

Within in primal mode, his instincts warned him of the apex predator looming above him –just like the rest of those who came across her –but she tried her best to dim down her oppressive presence and resorted to her maternal side, kneeling down and grabbing him by the arms to capture him in an inescapable hug, not only to confine him from hurting anyone else but also to comfort him when he came to.

Allison and Scott seeped out of the closet and watched in awe as the fearsome predator they've known Madison to be become someone entirely different, as she cradled Isaac's head of curls into her shoulder and rocked him slightly like a loving sibling would do onto another. Her strong arms wrapped around his neck as her hand soothed down his curls.

He felt his growls die down and his struggling figure relaxed, taking in her scent and tender touch and returning the gesture by wrapping his arms around her torso. He glanced over his shoulder to Allison, noticing Scott looking at her scathed arms –bloody and swollen. He winced.

"I'm sorry," Isaac started, turning his head to Allison but his arms had wrapped around Madison's torso tightly, gripping her just as protectively as she had around him. "I didn't mean to do that."

"It's okay," Allison excused. "I'm okay," she assured.

"I'm so sorry," he wept.

"It's not your fault," Madison promised. "It's not your fault at all." She and Scott caught each other's eyes, her livid blue orbs wondering how the hell they got into that situation while Scott's knowing and empathetic ones seemed to be screaming unspoken answers she desperately wanted to know.

"It's not his fault," Allison pleaded to Scott.

"I know," Scott agreed, looking at both women. "I guess now we know they want to do more than get you angry. They want to get someone hurt."

"Who," Madison demanded still very much protective of Isaac as she continued to hold him in her arms.

"The Alphas –the twins," Scott clarified, "where have you been?" He added suspiciously with narrowed eyes.

"Dealing with another pair of Alphas," she explained considerately, lowering her tone. She raised her arm to show a little splatter of blood on her wrist. "It's not mine. It's theirs. Now I'm still itching for a fight since they didn't learn their lesson. Where are the little mongrels? Wait until I get my hands on them…" She growled.

"So are we going to do something," Isaac challenged, as if Scott had protested against the idea before –Madison would believe it –as Scott was a very cautious guy.

"Damn right we're going to do something about it," Madison snarled.

"Yeah," the Beta agreed fiercely, contorting his face into an image of concentrated anger. "I'm going to get them angry, _really angry." _

"Count me in," Madison volunteered. Allison and Scott shared a look of apprehension.

"No murder, no killing," Scott compromised.

Madison smirked. "Murder is too merciful," she agreed wholeheartedly.

_Teen Wolf_

Tabitha unfortunately had a locker outside _–outside –_what the hell was she going to do if it was raining? She didn't think those things were even use! But nope, like always, she got the shitty end of the stick, she fumed. She blamed her crappy locker placement last year on the fact her school was racist –yes it was –despite the fact Latinos composed 60% of the population at St. Catherine's as most of the Hispanic community _was _Catholic and in their area, many of the families could afford the tuition and were willing to spend it to preserve the religion on culture –just as her dad had –but still, the higher income white students always seemed to get the better deal she noticed there. Better lockers, better classes, better teachers… anyone who believed discrimination and segregation was all but banished was _dead wrong. _

Public school was a different experience for her though all together. First and foremost, on the positive side, she didn't need to wear that ridiculous blue blazer uniform anymore. She left it behind for good. She wish she could have finally worn her nice pair of Nike shoes she's been dying to wear –the bright green ones with blue and yellow accents she caught at the mall and Madison was more than happy to gift her for her birthday –but living with Madison had a cost –a big one –including losing all rights to choose an outfit (or perhaps that's just because Madison adopted a "sisterly" responsibility to 'look' out for Tabitha, by insisting on making a 'killer' impression.) The brunette didn't mind the jeans –she adored them but that was her only touch. Everything else –the tan, leather mini jacket, the black lace shirt, the pink pendent and matching cuff bracelet or whatever Madison called it –that was _all Madison. _

The shoes were no exemption. How the hell Madison persuaded her to wear the damn hell –wait no, 'pumps' Madison specified –she didn't know but somehow she convinced her to wear them. She stumbled a little in the uncomfortable shoes but eventually the petite brunette adapted a somewhat stable walking technique allowing her to get to class to class.

At least she got a ton of compliments the last three periods on her outfit –of course, Madison knew what she was doing –but it didn't change the fact she didn't want people to think of her as someone like Madison. She wanted her own identity but for now she'll endure her titled stereotype as some fashionable snob.

"Do you know there's a temple in Calcutta where they used to sacrifice a child every day? That's every day a dead baby_, every day_! Hey want to know what today is? It's dead baby day! Oh no, _that's every day_, 'cause every day is dead baby day! _Yay," _she heard Stiles' sarcastic voice ring nearby. Sure, her hearing wasn't that sharp anymore but his voice was loud as usual. She ignored the context the message –it was Stiles' after all –and followed it, noticing his typical flannel shirt following the short brown skirt of a familiar red-head. She frowned slightly but was undeterred and hurried behind them –walking as fast as she could without tripping which wasn't too bad now that she drift of it.

"Why are you telling me this?" Lydia questioned with an equal amount of snark.

"Because," Stiles exclaimed, using his usual dramatic hand gestures, Tabitha saw from behind, "because Scott is dealing with the Alpha twins." The two abruptly stopped. "You don't know about the twins?"

"Alphas," Lydia retorted in disbelief.

"Ethan and Aiden," Stiles illuminated.

Tabitha was advancing close but when she wanted to slow, she missed her footing, stumbling over a heel. In a moment of dread, she reached out to catch herself, accidently swiping her hand on Stiles' shoulder. The force of the motion caused the pair to stumble, with Tabitha losing her footing completely with no chance at recovery and toppling over –the one thing she trying to _avoid_ today –but before she hit the ground, a pair of strong hands hoisted her up, balancing her before one pale hand rested on her elbow.

"You alright," he began. She looked up from the ground and they were caught in an intense connection. His warm honey eyes burned into hers, widening as he took in her bright, and rosy face. He couldn't believe she healed that fast and looked that vibrant –and when she smiled welcoming at him, he lost his breath for a second. "Tabi," he breathed out, stunned.

He didn't think the girl was Tabi at first. No, the heels, the jacket, and the curled hair were anything but Tabitha. The girl he knew was casual and sporty, with tennis shoes and a pony tail, but this one –this glamorous version of her –he didn't mind it at all but still, it took him a moment to really register this was her.

Lydia blinked in shock. She, too, didn't suspect Tabitha to look as imposing as her best friend but with a little blush and lip gloss (and edgy wardrobe), the country girl seemed to adopt a whole new identity –much like Madison's –the typical snotty-rich-brat Lydia had once achieved but with Madison in the mix, Lydia was out-done, and now with Tabitha as the second runner up, Lydia was internally fuming. How one could achieve that natural yet beautiful appearance was beyond her but then again, Tabitha's naturally athletic body did grant her desirable curves and that innocent act she had going tends to spark the wanting nature in men.

"So," Tabitha began slowly, weirded out by their intrusive eyes. She shifted uncomfortably under both stared and turned to stare directly at Stiles, ignoring the peeved red-head. "I can't help but hear something about Alphas. I believe that's within in my range of expertise. I want in," she started. Stiles nodded along, somewhat registering her words while his mind casted away to her new look –trying to settle with in –but something about her in heels didn't seem right. Sure it gave her height but –to be honest –he favored her simple jeans, tennis, and shirt. Maybe he just liked the thought of being taller than her. She was the size of a pixie after all.

He was also enamored with her longer hair, curled flawlessly (by Madison's experienced hands) and shimmering under the sunlight. Before he knew what he was doing, his hands were already tangled in one of her strands. She blushed.

"I like your hair," he admitted.

"Thanks," she acknowledged. His hand rested along the base of her neck and pulled her in closer, letting his arm snaked further around her shoulders and pulling her in. They started to walk after Lydia who trotted off.

"So, it's a long story," Stiles began. "I'm not sure if I can recap it to you in the few minutes we have."

"Something about the Alpha Twins," Tabitha suggested as a start. "Madison told me about them so you don't need to go into that. What got me interested was the 'dead baby' part. I'm assuming that's not political," she grinned. He chuckled.

"Okay, okay, good, so look, here's what I'm thinking," Stiles began to rambled, extending his other hand to Lydia and pulled her back. She raised a brow, not amused in the slightest. Stiles then looked down at Tabitha and hoped she would catch the drift. She felt his hand descend from her shoulder to her waist and kept a firm hand on her hip. Lydia noticed the intimate gesture and how relaxed Tabitha accepted it. "I'm thinking that maybe the murders come in threes," Stiles told both of them. "Ancient people love things in three, right? So maybe first it's three virgins, and then, maybe, I don't, three people who own little dogs?"

"I own a little dog," Lydia scoffed.

"Ha," Tabitha snorted. Lydia glared at you. "I'm safe. I got a big dog back a home. Clover has more purpose than some tea cup Chihuahua, that's much."

"_Prada_ is a _Papillion,_" Lydia sneered.

"Whatever it is, anything below 15 pounds is _not _a dog. It's a rat," Tabitha stressed with a similar sneer.

"I am not getting rid of my dog," Lydia asserted to both of them, noticing Stiles' conflicted expression.

"Would you just think about getting rid of your little dog?" Stiles hassled. Tabitha chuckled. Lydia turned to walk away and Stiles in turn pulled Tabitha along with him to catch up with the red-head.

"No," she rejected, "and by the way you can't discern a pattern by a single data point so stop trying," she pointed out. Tabitha was stunned by how bitchy the red head could be, and by Stiles' heated expression, she knew he, too, was not particularly welcoming of the treatment.

"Okay then," Stiles challenged. "I'm supposed to wait around for someone to die? I'm just supposed to sit there and watch them die? Just wait for them to wither up and die right in front of me?"

"Wither," Lydia wondered, as the word seemed out of place in the context. She stopped, prompting Stiles and Tabitha to do the same next to her.

"You know what I mean, die, in just a hideous, awful strangulating, head bashing, throat cutting kind of way," Stiles exclaimed. Tabitha cringed.

"Sounds pretty violent," she closed her eyes in habit. "Ugh… Thanks Stiles. I have lunch next period. Thank you so much for that lovely description." She shook her head. "Yep, okay, there goes my appetite. Thanks," she sarcastically muttered. Stiles shrugged and muttered a 'sorry' which Tabitha disregarded.

"Maybe it's not your job," Lydia suggested, ignoring Tabitha's disgruntled expression. "You said it yourself. They were strangled with a garrote. That's a human thing to do, so…" She shrugged, "maybe just the figuring it out part to someone human."

"Wait, you mean someone like my dad?" Stiles lowered his voice gravely. Tabitha felt him stiffen beside it, tensing at the mention of his only family.

"No," Lydia sighed, "I mean _your dad_." She specified. "The sheriff," she exclaimed, walking away. Stiles dropped his hand in dismay as concern covered his features. Tabitha offered a supporting hug and rested her head against his chest.

"Look," Tabitha suggested, "if it's a serial killer, he or she is going to stick to a certain pattern and I doubt they'll ruin their routine for a cop. Your father can handle himself," she promised. Stiles took the gesture gratefully and held her small hand in his and started to walk to his intended class, with her trailing behind him. "Whoa slow down, heels remember?!" She exclaimed. He smirked.

_Teen Wolf _

"So this is your grand plan," Madison mused disapprovingly. She watched from the curb as Allison and Isaac fiddled with the wires of one of the bikes. "Instead of hotwiring the car, can't we just take the brakes out? Even better, let's just cut the tires," she supplied. She flashed her claws and skimmed them over the other bike's front tire while Allison scrutinized Madison from over the steering bars. Madison sliced through the rubber with ease and watched with satisfaction as the tire wheeze and flattened onto the pavement. She followed through with the second tire before joining Isaac's side on the pavement.

"How long is this going to take," Isaac frantically asked. Allison nodded, grinned, and turned on the vehicle.

"I'll admit, I'm impressed," Madison complimented, patting Allison on back as Isaac clambered onto the two-wheeled vehicle. "Good job, Argent."

"Pull back with the left hand, kick down to put in gear, front brake," Allison directed, pressing his hand on the handle, "throttle," she engaged, forcing his hand to twist the rubber of the handle. "Back brake for stopping," she said, gathering a close distance between their faces. Madison tilted her head at the intimate motion. She assumed the two had reconciled after Allison had all but lacerated him. More than she could say about Allison and her. "Try not the crash," she joked.

"Yeah, been there, done that," Isaac smiled. Madison took out her phone, as did Allison and took pictures of the excited boy on the bike. He gleamed enthusiastically.

"Alright bad boy, go break some rules," Madison yipped, clapping behind him. Allison and she shared a rare but friendly smile, just as excited as Isaac was. He revved the engine and adjusted the helmet on his head, closing the visor and sped onto the lawn.

"So you and Isaac," Allison started, following him inside the school although he was far ahead.

"It's not a romance," Madison dismissed.

"Didn't say it was," Allison insisted defensively. "I was just going to say..." Allison's throat went dry, "you take really good care of him. When you comforted him after we were locked in a closet…I just…want to take back what I said about you being heartless. I know you are capable of caring –I saw it for the first time and really believe it –I hope you can accept my apology."

Madison remained uncomfortably quiet after Allison's revelations.

Allison filled in the awkward silence as Madison stared on solemnly. "I've been thinking since that moment and I realized that all this –this cover of being cold and unfeeling –it's all a cover and that you are just caring as the others –you just don't want to show. Is it because of what happened to your parents? What I mean by that is, are you scared of being hurt again?"

Madison –again –refused to answer and remained silent, unnerving Allison.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Allison admitted somberly.

"You shouldn't have," Madison agreed heavily.

"You don't have to disagree with what I said. I won't tell anyone. I do want to know though if you can accept my apology."

"What apology," Madison demanded suddenly. "What on earth do you have to apologize for?"

"Well…I…those times I went after you…and me being bitter and…" Allison stuttered, unable to vocalize all the times she's dreamt about retribution and condemning Madison to fiery pits of hell for all of her callous behavior.

"Allison," Madison stabbed into her with a harsh, sharp tone. Allison cringed. "You have _nothing _to apologize for. I went after you a long time ago –and now we're even because I saved your ass from your lunatic grandfather. That's done –that's in the past –we're not going to review that and comb for anything else. The bitter feelings between us," she restated, "that can't be helped. I find you annoying, and you find me psychotic and evil or whatever you describe me as."

"But I don't anymore," Allison insisted, surprising Madison. "I don't find you evil or psychotic because…I do understand your struggle. When I lost my mom, I went crazy, but so did you. I guess it's something we share. I won't condemn you if you don't condemn me," Allison compromised with a generous smile. Madison smiled lightly back, somewhat moved by the gesture.

"Can I ask you another thing? You don't have to answer. Just don't rip my throat out," Allison joked.

Madison chuckled. "Depends on the question," Madison played back. Allison smiled, assured by Madison's light tone.

"Is that why you're helping us? I wanted to know why you've been risking your life for us. You _want _to help us. Scott sees it. Derek sees it. Isaac sees it. I see it now. We're all curious to why you want to though. Why us," Allison inquired.

Madison sighed. "You know why Allison. If we're so alike, you must already know why. It's the same reason why you're so eager to help, too." Madison left it at that. Allison nodded along, understanding her message clearly.

"Well," Allison concluded, earning a look from Madison. "Thank you for going out of your way. We definitely appreciate it. You're a good friend Madison."

Madison smiled. "Call me Maddy," she offered. Allison gleamed brightly with a wide smile. "_Who would have thought_," she grinned, laughing to herself. Allison laughed along.

Both girls joined the growing number of students lining outside the classrooms to watch the 'sudden eruption' and smirked as Aiden was caught in the middle on top of bike, with it only a matter of second of him being caught.

Ms. Blake came bursting out, livid as she took in the image. "You have got to be kidding me. You realize this is going to result in suspension," she yelled. Allison and Isaac shared a grin as Allison and Scott exchanged cute I'm-an-innocent-bystander faces. Madison shook her head, amused, and acknowledged Allison's effort with a proud smile. Allison linked arms with Madison, stunning both Isaac and Scott who were well aware of their hostile history. She pulled Madison from behind so she'd be lined up with them equally, a gesture Madison took to heart.


	14. Monsters & Mayhem P3-3 (3x04 Unleashed)

**Part 3**

_Teen Wolf _

Tabitha followed Stiles into the Animal clinic, trailing behind him closely as he slipped in quietly.

"You're out of school early," Dr. Deaton welcomed with a friendly smile, "and who might this young lady be?" He smiled brightly at Tabitha. She smiled sheepishly back.

"Yeah, free period actually," Stiles said, "and this is Tabitha. Tabitha, meet Dr. Deaton." Tabitha waved to the African-American man and stepped closer to Stiles, exhibiting abnormally shy behavior. "Um, I was just heading to see my dad, he's uh –you know, I guess, you probably heard people are kinda getting murdered again. It's his job to figure it out."

Dr. Deaton looked at Tabitha strangely, wondering about her association. Stiles caught his drift. "Oh, Tabitha is Madison's Beta. She's well aware of the supernatural," Stiles grinned. Tabitha looked down awkwardly before looking back up to hide her anxiety.

"I gathered as much from the Sheriff title," Deaton replied after validation.

"Yeah," Stiles dragged on. "Um, you know, it gets kind of hard to do his job when he doesn't have all the information, and we all know he's missing pretty much half the story right, so? I started thinking and I remembered someone does have a lot of information, someone who seems to know more than anyone else around here…You."

_Teen Wolf _

"All these symbols and things, the triskeles, the bank logo, the mountain ash," Stile rushed, following Deaton inside the vet clinic. Tabitha was only a few steps behind, listening intently. "All of it is from the Celtic Druids, and anyone who has ever looked up human sacrifice before know the druids had a pretty big hard on when it came to giving one up to Gods. Ever heard the Landau Man? 2000 year old body found in England? He was found strangled, head bashed in, throat cut," Stiles described. Tabitha winced again, not amused in the slightest by the gory descriptions but Stiles continued, adamant on the subject _"-three fold death_. They also found pollen grains in his stomach. Guess what favorite druid plant that was?"

On the other hand, she couldn't help but smile at him from the side, not that Stiles notice since he was too impassioned in his speech. Deaton noticed her admiring gaze though, the way her gold-speckled emerald eyes shimmered under dark, long lashes adoringly at the man. Tabitha would have been surprised a long time ago if anyone told her she'd fall hard for a slim, sarcastic "little shit" (as Madison 'fondly' referred to him as on some occasions) as the stereotype for Tabitha was set by her brothers –tall (well compared to her short height, Stiles had a definite advantage –and to be honest –she found it attractive…) athletic, (well, Stiles wasn't all that athletic) but that's where she broke the mold.

She was enamored with his wit and quick thinking, contrasting her rash and shoot-first attitude. The fact his family –well, father actually since she wasn't quite sure about his other relatives –came from police background and he pursued a similar road only amplified her attraction to the young man. Though her family came from more military backgrounds, local cops were just as patriotic –probably not as Republican but she put political views aside for now.

Madison had warned her on multiple occasions during their tour around Europe to be careful. Tabitha was young, naïve, inexperienced and while she may be a force, Madison had said, Tabitha was still emotionally vulnerable and promised if Stiles even dared to hurt her in any way she'd break the boy's spine and bash in his head. (Madison could be a little graphic but in the case of defending her best friend and adoptive sister, Tabitha didn't mind knowing it came from a good place. That's what sisters did right? She never had one before and having Madison as her substitute was probably the best thing that happened to tom-boyish girl.)

Either way, Tabitha enjoyed the possibility of a sensitive, sarcastic 'nerd.' He would be better to cuddle with than –let's say –the likes of Jackson.

Tabitha watched as Deaton selected a glass jar of herbs, eyeing the unknown logo on the front. He pulls out a branch of mistletoe and shows both of them he knew exactly what Stiles was getting to. "Mistletoe," he announced.

"I'm just telling you everything you already know, aren't I?" Stiles thought out loud, looking down in embarrassment but he rose with a sudden blaze of anger, "then why aren't you telling us?" He yelled across the table. Tabitha winced next to him.

"Maybe because when you spent every moment of the last ten years trying to push something away, denying it, lying about it," Dr. Deaton explained softly, as if saddened. "It becomes a pretty powerful habit." Tabitha eyes sunk to the ground as she was reminded of her own battles with lycanthropy and having to hide it from her family –how it led to her exile. She rethought her decision to accept the reversal as she realized any attempt to reconcile with her father was severely cut. Why even bother becoming human when he still saw her as a bad reminder?

"Alright, so this guy, is he a druid?" Stiles inquired.

"No," Dr. Deaton shook his head. "It's someone copying centuries old practice of a people who should've known better. Do you know what the world Druid means in Gaelic?" He demanded furiously, angered by the tragic turn of events.

"No," Stiles whispered.

"Wise Oak," Tabitha answered. Dr. Deaton looked at her curiously. "It means 'Wise Oak.'"

"How do you know that?" He queried.

"Madison may be a genius but that doesn't disqualify me as intelligent. A lot of people seem to forget I come a very politically active family from sides, one of them which is Irish, which helps," Tabitha shortened her answer.

Dr. Deaton considered this and made a mental note to keep her in mind as the lovely brunette blushed under his cryptic stare.

"The Celtic Druids were close to nature. They believed they kept it in balance. They were philosophers, and scholars. They weren't serial killers," Deaton emphasized after an unnerving silence.

"Yeah well this one is," Stiles gravely replied.

Tabitha turned her head to Stiles' side as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He reached down for it, pulling it out and reading the ID. Tabitha's jaw tightened at the familiar name on his ID.

"Hey, I can't talk right now," Stiles snapped on the phone. Tabitha held back a smile, glad he wasn't ogling the bratty red-head like he usually did. Her happiness was short-lived when his eyes widened. "Wait, what? Okay, are you sure he's missing?"

"Not just missing, taken," Lydia clarified in a panic on the other end. Tabitha gritted her teeth.

"Ugh," Tabitha groaned. "Well seeing as school is over," she shot at Stiles as he ended the call, "you still owe me a lunch since we skipped it." Stiles nodded and took her hand in his, guiding her out of the room, Deaton in two.

"We can stop by my place after," Stiles suggested, opening the door for her. She felt her stomach flip nervously at the thought of his insinuation but his distracted expression reminded her that he probably didn't mean what she was thinking, so she compelled herself to drop her expectations to something more innocent. Still, she smiled nonetheless, eager about the intimate gathering and walked close by his side to his car which he drove her in.

_Teen Wolf _

Tabitha listened intently to the replaying of the tape, disturbed by the out of place chanting on the phone's speakers.

"Can we get a copy of this?" Dr. Deaton requested to Lydia. She nodded and took the phone from his hands, immediately sharing the recording however way she knew. Tabitha wasn't as tech friendly and often struggled with such tasks while much more efficient with manual tasks by building and dismembering a gun into parts just like father had instilled in her. She was hands-on person –which came to be very useful in the many adventures she came across.

"Hey Doc, any help would be, uh, you know, uh, helpful," Stiles stated from the other side of the room. Tabitha was occupied with sorting through the drawers, just as he was, but her eyes were distracted by what was happening away from her, slowing down the tasks. Stiles' hand came around her hip and gently nudged her aside as he re-examined her drawer with combing eyes. She felt her stomach flip at the gesture, unable to rid herself of the fluttering inside her stomach.

"Each grouping of three would have its own purpose," Dr. Deaton explained with deep, thoughtful eyes. "Its own type of power, virgins, healers, philosophers, warriors…" Dr. Deaton listed off, trying to find a common ground. Tabitha saw Stiles' eyes spark at the mention of the last namesake, jolting upright excitedly.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Stiles interrupted, focusing on the desk. Tabitha trailed her eyes down to his probing hands, catching the object in his hands. "Could that also be a solider?"

"Absolutely," Dr. Deaton replied.

Tabitha watched with hawk-like eyes at the picture in Stiles' hands, the one of the said-missing teacher in uniform and the lovely white-veiled bride in his arms on –assumingly –their wedding day. She frowned at the tragic reality that perhaps their marriage would be short lived.

"Kyle was in ROTC with Boyd," Stiles gathered as he slapped the picture on desk surface.

"That's got to be it," Dr. Deaton insisted. "That's the pattern! Where's Boyd?" He questioned.

"He's probably home right now. I'm going to try and get him on the phone," Stiles scurried, furiously searching for Boyd's contact on his screen. He started to walk off while Tabitha stayed behind, bothered by the new light of the situation.

No, her father was too far away –and yet the military revelation shook her. It was too close to home. She bit her bottom lip in anxiety.

She glanced over her shoulder and caught Lydia's stupefied expression with immediately peaked her interested, wondering what the red head had to offer.

"Lydia…" Dr. Deaton spoke first, suspicious, "something wrong?"

"No, it was, uh," she staggered in speech. Tabitha's dark green eyes narrowed, distrustful and doubting. "I mean- I just thought of someone else with a military connection."

"Who," Stiles demanded with equally slit eyes. His voice was hard and stern, matching his stiffened posture as his hand dropped, disregarding his out-going call.

"Mr. Harris," Lydia murmured. Tabitha caught it being so close but Stiles had to step closer to the desk, stepping alongside Tabitha enough that their elbows skimmed to hear Lydia repeat it.

_Teen Wolf_

Madison accompanied Scott and Isaac further into the day –as her father –_the biological one –_had promised her he'd pick her up after school at a certain time, so she definitely had some time to kill and why not spend the few extra minutes conspiring with the two Betas? Tabitha was enjoying some time with her lover boy and would join her later.

She descended down the steps behind them, taking her sweet time.

"Yeah, uh, I wish I could have seen their faces," Isaac wished out loud. Madison stopped abruptly behind them, tightening her eyes in suspicion as she smelled something –_someone_ –familiar. Her muscles tensed in instinct. The boys walked ahead mindlessly, unaware of her abrupt halt. "They look seriously pissed?"

"Yeah," Scott assured proudly, grinning along with Isaac.

Madison turned her head to their direction and caught the duo of dark figures looming into the distance. Isaac and Scott trampled closer to them, unaware. Her eyes widened in panic.

"Scott," she called out in fright. Scott froze and turned, watching her frightened face shift into one of anger as her eyes burst into a fiery red looking past him. He slowly turned to the direction she was glaring at lividly and paled, finally seeing the twins he was unaware of before moments ago greeting him with equal hostility.

Using her enhanced speed, she made no problem joining their side, stepping in between Isaac and Scott and asserting herself protectively in front of them. Isaac dared to step up beside her, moved with the delusion of false equality and naïve bravery. She shot him a disapproving look and pushed him back with a hard shove of her palm.

"Back off," she warned the twins, "or I swear you won't live to see another day."

The twins laughed sardonically, glaring at her with comparable hatred. "What are you going to do about it?" They challenged before looking at each other. She stiffened, recognizing the motion and urged the two betas behind to step back, extending her arms backwards and pushing them behind her forcefully, anticipating the situation to escalate.

Just as she predicted, they began to peel off their shirts and tossed them to the side.

"Get going, _now," _she ordered to Scott and Isaac but both refused to budge. One kneeled down while the other loomed. Madison swallowed bitterly. "Scott, Isaac, _now," _she urged. In a panic, she decided to resort to her own advantage and undid her waist belt, handing it to Isaac who took it hesitantly, confused, and even more so when his stunned eyes captured the flesh of her back as she shed her designer shirt, forcing it onto Scott by slamming the fisted shirt into his chest, exposing her black lace bra and just as dark leggings underneath. She stepped out of her shoes and kicked them aside, barefoot for a moment as the Alpha twins tilted their heads in confusion, mirroring Isaac and Scott.

In a sudden fury of ripping clothes, Madison doubled over in a blur. The sound of bones cracking and rearranging startled them before her slender figure was replaced with a menacing black shape of course fur and snarling teeth, snapping at the pair who jolted back, recognizing the abnormally sized beast as the one from before.

Isaac, too, recognized her from that very night and couldn't stop the sneaky smile on his face as he realized what she was and what she did, instinctively raising his hand to his forehead where the wound was. She stood in that same defensive stance, guarding Scott just as she with the kids while her long, bushy tail whipped against Isaac's hip forcefully.

She snarled menacingly as the twins began to mold together. She backed up, forcing Isaac and Scott to do the same of her weight and force stunned them into a moment of involuntary submission. She snarled louder, dipping her large black head low, flattening her ears defensively on her head and raising her lips to show her larger-than-normal canine fangs to impose a threat.

"We can take them," Isaac boldly stated, tossing his bag to the side and rolling his sleeved. Madison growled viciously, both warningly at Isaac and the twins to assert to severity of the situation. Scott looked incredulously at Isaac, bewildered by his daring proclamation.

"Are you kidding?" Scott exclaimed in a panic. He grabbed Isaac's wrist and tugged him back while his other hand urged Madison frantically to follow them. "Isaac!" He screamed, running away from the barreling mutated beast. Madison kept her ground, crouching in anticipation before leaping to the side in a matter of moments. The twins missed her. She took the opportunity to bite at the ankles, tripping them effectively and they came crashing onto the floor with a loud, tile-shattering thud. She had successfully torn their skin with her razor sharp teeth, prompting a flooding of flood to pool from the wound.

Madison spun her head, smelling a new presence and narrowed in at blind man tapping his way through the hall.

"Madison, what a sight to behold I can only assume," he mused, glancing down at where her crouched figure lay. "A true Hell Hound in every possible way." He grinned while she snapped defensively. He looked down at his arm, tracing his unmarred skin with a delicate finger, and glanced back at her. "As you might notice, that bite of yours didn't do the intended trick," he smirked. "I won't need that antidote after all."

The abomination of the conjoined Alphas had separated, leaving them aching on the floor as their feet swelled. They glanced at Deucalion as he made it way towards. They struggled to pick themselves up and align perfectly in a display of obedience and discipline. Deucalion twisted off a cap off his cane, Madison observed with vivid red eyes, revealing a sharp arrow like tip at the end. She was joined by Scott who had come to her aid, kneeling down beside her and tugging her mane to leave eagerly, scared for her safety but she remained cool and solid, standing her ground. In a quick, swift motion, he struck the two boys, marring a thin but deep gash on their cheeks. Madison winced at the corporal punishment.

She watched as they stepped aside and let him pass, following him through like a military march like the loyal pawns they were.

"Who the hell is that," Isaac demanded next to Scott. His eyes widened at the red tainting of Madison's fangs, concerned but was assured by her strong, solid figure she was safe and unharmed.

_Deucalion, _Madison's livid voice answered telepathically. He jolted at her voice, unused to the sensation but was calmed by her dimming eyes, as the red-eyed demonic seeming wolf had dulled to a stunning blue eyes creature in contrast to her midnight black fur.

_Teen Wolf _

"This is just one of many possibilities," Dr. Deaton offered, examining the objects on Mr. Harris' desk. "Could have simply left for the day," he also suggested, taking in the empty classroom. Stiles frantically sifted through the drawers, gathering as much evidence as possible with Tabitha's aid as she overlooked his shoulder.

"Yeah, well," Stiles retorted, pulling a laptop case from the floor, "not without this."

Tabitha sorted through the paper Stiles had scattered from the abandoned bag. She furrowed her brows, pointing at one of the letter grades marked in red. Stiles also knitted his brows in surprise at her revelation and picked up the graded test for closer examination.

"What," Dr. Deaton probed in concern.

Stiles turned the piece of paper over to show Deaton the red 'R' on top of the page. "This test is graded R," he announced in suspicion. Deaton came forward to see for himself.

"This one's an H," Lydia added, showing her copy.

Tabitha sifted through the others, catching A's and a C, all appearing normal if it wasn't for the multiple markings on one which was ironically deemed 'A' worthy. She knotted her brows together in confusion and lifted it up, separating it from the rest as it was unusual.

"This is no way an 'A'," Tabitha supplied, handing it to Deaton. "That has to be D material," she pointed at all the crossed out questions. Deaton nodded in agreement and pilled it on top of his growing collection of evidence.

He gathered the rest on the desk, trying to formulate a possible word these could compile to be. She watched as he listed them down, D-A-R-A-C-H. She tried to think of what it could mean but came up with nothing.

"Stiles, you remember when we mentioned Druid is the Gaelic word for wise oak?" Dr. Deaton reminded. Stiles and Tabitha nodded. "If a Druid when down the wrong path, the 'Wise Oak' was sometimes said to become a 'Dark Oak,' and there's a Gaelic word for that as well." He looked down at the alignment of papers, prompting the others to do so as well. "Darach," Dr. Deaton read out loud.

_Teen Wolf _

She was furious. Madison Dubolazov was yet again tempted to rampage a bloody tirade as she stormed into the building, pillaged with Isaac's pain when memories of his father's traumatic 'teachings' and excessive discipline bombarded the poor boy's psyche after Derek's carelessly threw the glass at him.

The many problems to being mentally linked to one person were to be able to feel _everything _including your own reactions, creating a stressed mind and tense body. She was about to blow as her need to comfort Isaac was equally matched by her urge to violently rip something apart.

"Isaac," Madison exclaimed, catching the boy off guard. "Are you okay?" She ran forward up the stairs, capturing the boy in a hug. She set aside her fury and smothered the boy with compassion, holding him tight while his limp arms held tightly onto a small bag of his belongings. "I saw what Derek did –it wasn't right," she side with him. "Do you need a ride or place to stay? You can come home with me. I have a couch and a guest room that you can chose from," she offered.

"How," Isaac asked in disbelief.

"I see everything you see," she explained, tracing the area she had clawed him. "It's one of my many skills."

Isaac smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks Madison," he replied wearily, unsure how to accept her kindness but with her empathetic smile and soft blue eyes, he felt trusting of her –disregarding any other moments of brutality and viciousness she had displayed earlier. "I think…I think I want to see Scott first." He declined politely. "Thank you though."

"I can give you a drive," Madison offered. She dug in her pocket and handed him the keys. "It's parked up front. Put your stuff in my trunk and I'll meet you there in a second. I have to scold Derek," she assured. "You know what it looks like, right," she asked, "a white, 2-door BMW?" Isaac nodded. She hugged him briefly before nudging him down, letting him pass as she stormed up the staircase, eager to barge in with a renewed fury blazing in her stormy blue eyes.

"Really, Derek," she yelled, barging in. Derek jumped at her furious voice and spun to meet her livid glare. "Of all things, you need to throw a _glass _as Isaac? I get it that you want to protect your pack but that does not condone you to scare them off to avoid danger! If you pulled that shit on me you'd be dead in a pool of your own blood –which by the way, we will be talking about sooner or later," she pointed strictly. Her lips curled into a sour cold. "You could have told him, talked to him, suggested to him something along the lines of I need personal time with Cora or some miserably drift of a similar line."

Cora looked at her from the pillar, offended and opened her mouth to protest but was immediately quieted by Madison's murderous glare. "_Do not talk unless I ask you to, do you understand? I do not like you, I do not trust you, and I certainly will not tolerate any mouthy comment coming from your lips because you feel protected by your brother._ News flash princess, I can kill both you and I certainly have no problem arranging that." She roared, pointing a clawed finger her way. Cora shook in her shoes at Madison's furious streak, alarmed by the way Derek remained silent during her tirade, almost frightened of the blaring blonde himself.

Madison returned her wrath to Derek who stood there silent. "You really need to work on your Alpha skills if that's how you're going to treat your pack members," she insulted. Derek winced. "Maybe you need to rethink your position."

"Is that what you've been after all along," Derek snarled, "my place as Alpha? Is that way you've been hanging around her? Is that why you coddle Isaac like he's some sort of child to you?" He hissed. Madison returned a growl, putting him in his place as her eyes blared red.

"I'm being a friend helping all of you, but it's making my job especially difficult when you fuck it up all the time, that maybe perhaps I do consider the possibilities of adopting your pack but then I remind myself it's not my duty to guide a bunch of puppies," she snarled. "Whatever soft spot I have for Isaac is none of your damn business," she harked.

"You're not going to give me answers or excuses," she observed. "You're just going to sit there and brood like a child, unable to accept your wrong-doings and just pout because life didn't go your way. Too damn bad," she jeered. "You took responsibility for these kids and now you have to own up to it, all of it. You put them in danger so now you have to protect them, but you go about it all wrong. I won't give you a lecture because honestly I don't have time for that. I have better things to do than lecture you. It's not my job and it shouldn't have to be."

"And you're such a good leader yourself," Derek sarcastically recoiled. "You abandoned your own pack," he reminded her. "If anything you're a hypocrite."

Madison shook her head. "At least I own up to my mistakes," she accepted, "and I moved past them," she said calmly before tensing. "My father was an Alpha but I inherited that role far too young and I couldn't handle it. I don't have all the qualities I need to be a good Alpha but neither do you. I'm was pre-destined to be a strong, dependable Beta –a second in command –just like my dad was predicted to be but shit happens and we have to adjust to roles out of our comfort zone. He was the oldest and although not experienced, my dad over ceded my uncle as the executor and Alpha to do what was right. He stepped up to be an Alpha as had I. I'm not a natural leader, Derek, but I accept that, and maybe you should, too. Maybe you need to stop trying to be something you're not. Power is a very difficult thing to handle and some of us can't deal with it –and you're not one of the few who can."

Derek stood there, soaking in her words as each painful insult was delivered in the form of truthful words. His conscious reminded him of her lurking figure waiting behind him, anticipating his fall, and jumping ahead to replace his spot.

"Scott, though, he's different from us. He was never meant to be a Beta. I didn't see it at first but maybe it's because I was blind and biased. Now, though, I see it very well. He has what we don't. What I lack in compassion, he compensates, and he has reasoning that's far more logical than mine. His intentions are pure and he puts others ahead of himself. That's Alpha material and when he sees his opportunity, you better believe I'll be there beside him faithfully. Maybe it's time you join the bandwagon, too," she concluded, walking away slowly. "You tried Derek, I'll give you that much, but some of us aren't meant to be Alphas."

"Could you really let it go," Derek challenged, mustering a surprising amount of strength in his voice to match hers. "Being an Alpha, would you really be able to give away your power just like that?" He challenged. "Do you understand what you're asking me to do?" He yelled.

Her face froze, tightening into a solid mask of neutrality to hide her conflict before spinning around to face Derek once more.

"Keep in mind, Derek, I could be an Omega and I'd still be stronger than you, faster than you, smarter than you…it's not always about positions and power. It's what you have to survive and sometimes _power_ isn't enough. Deucalion is going to learn soon enough and so are you," she marshaled. She sighed. "And to answer your question, the answer is… probably not," she sighed in slight defeat, "but I am willing to admit my wrong doings." She retorted. "I would have choice but…naturally my personality wouldn't allow me to relinquish control like that. Not unless I found a leader just as capable as I that I could trust. That hasn't happened yet but if I did, perhaps, I wouldn't mind being a Beta. Surely, in the right pack, my expertise would be useful and I would be a significant aid, but as of now, being practical, I'm an Alpha and must behave as such accordingly." She said harshly.

He felt a pang in his chest as he realized the cost of the façade she had paid to maintain the image of power and control –the loss of happiness and joy –and how that one little sacrifice could change that –how willing she would be to surrender her power for the sake of having a functional pack that cared for each other.

_'Not unless I found a leader just as capable as I that I could trust. That hasn't happened yet but if I did, perhaps, I wouldn't mind being a Beta…' _The doubt in her words pierced Derek's cold armor when he caught onto those specific words, repeating them in his head and inhaling sharply, painfully, upon the truth sinking in. She didn't believe in him enough to let go of such a powerful title –still weary of his capabilities –wounding him deeply as he already doubted his abilities. He hid his hurt behind cold eyes –the same tactic she applied many times before him –and emotionlessly glared at her, urging her silently to leave. She took it graciously and left without another word.

She met Isaac outside, sliding into the car and pulling away from the curb.

"Thank you," Isaac kindly thanked her. "I appreciate the ride."

"Isaac," she began, "I'm telling you this because you ought to know. Alphas make mistakes –we're not perfect, believe me –and Derek is no different. He does things…childishly, selfishly it may seem like but the truth is he does it out of selflessness –for reasons he can't tell you because he feels like it's his right to protect you. I won't say what because that's his place –not mine –and I respect him enough to not interfere but I will step in if necessary because it's my obligation to help you. To put it in a nut shell," she explained as she turned to the desolate highway. "Derek is new at this –he wasn't destined to be an Alpha. He adopted that role from his father, who passed it down to the oldest –Laura –who naturally would have passed it down to Derek but the naturally succession was unfortunately interrupted by Peter before Derek rightfully earning it back." She sighed heavily and pursed her lips in deep thought. "That shouldn't have happened. Laura should still be alive and Derek should be a Beta but the lesson is: We have to adjust to roles and Derek hasn't quite gotten it down –keep that in mind. He wasn't expected to be an Alpha and when power is thrust upon someone so suddenly like that it takes them quite a while to get a handle on it." She rambled nervously, tapping her hands on the wheel incessantly.

"You know what the funny thing is? I should've been a beta. It was pre-destined before I was even born –even before my dad met my mom. _It was all genetics_. He was a Beta therefore I ought to be a Beta, but life has a funny way of altering our circumstances. Because of my Dad's sacrifice, and his father's sacrifice, and the poor timing, he became an Alpha, thus imposing the same destiny upon me. I was also given critical responsibilities that –because of the years I spent harnessing my abilities –I stepped up to. Being an Alpha isn't about the power," she confided, looking at Isaac intensely. "It's about meeting the needs of other –that's what power is about –having the lives of others depending on your decisions –and some people lost track of it. Derek hasn't –I know that –but Deucalion surely has. I did a while back, too, but I'm making up those mistakes, learning from my failures and actually growing to become a better leader –a better Alpha."

Isaac sat solemnly in his seat, taking in her wise words. Madison didn't realize she was lecturing unaware of the passing time on the clock on her dashboard, and neither was Isaac who was awed by her knowledge and personal details. He was grateful though for her perspective –a new light he had never seen before.

He realized there as she spoke passionately that she wasn't who she let on to be. She was more than just a pretty face, or a deadly Alpha. She was rounded –something she had become during her experience in Russia granting her a new sight and vision of her world and those around her unbeknownst to him.

"I had _years _to adjust and even then, I still couldn't get it down –I wasn't meant to be an Alpha. My father was supposed to be a Beta –a tracker –someone who took orders rather than give them –but just like Derek, a shift in family dynamic caused him to take control at a young age and he was one of the few who knew how to carry out the responsibility –sadly he wasn't there long enough to teach me –which wasn't his fault –but either way, I had to adjust in my own way. I was one of the Alphas who put aside any compassion and ruled with an Iron fist because I couldn't afford to have my vision impaired by emotions. Derek is the opposite. He isn't logical, he's too emotional, and he put your happiness over your safety –and I see from tonight he knows that, so he's trying to change that, switching it around…" she frowned disapprovingly, shaking her head as they sped down the highway, shaving time off their intended passage into the residential suburban area.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, we each have a certain way we lead. People like me –the kind of people who use intelligence like me often disregard emotions as a factor. Alphas like me –like Deucalion –we think objectively, much to the displeasure of those under us who don't 'feel' like it's the right course of action. We think of the long haul towards the end. We're tacticians, critical, calculating, calm-headed and collected people who…" she paused as she devised other words to fit with her theme, "people who focus on the _essentials._"

"Then there's Derek. He leads with the opposite course of action. Who acts upon emotions and often acts rashly because of it. He is often impassioned and heated, easily moved and frequently torn by duty and conflicting internal forces. He's wants to please his pack, often denying himself his own happiness for the sake of yours. He becomes a martyr. People like me –we easily take advantage of his kind because he's predictable –we can manipulate him without him knowing." Her eyes shifted uneasily over the road as she slowed and coming to a speed meeting the limit authorized. "That's my concern. If I see the opportunity to take advantage of him, so does Deucalion, and you better believe Deucalion is an opportunistic man –he's going to take it and Derek won't know any better than to fall for it."


	15. Loss and Allegiance P1-5 (3x05 Frayed)

**Part 1**

_In her daze, Madison swerved around in the chaos around her. Isaac being tossed into a wall –head snap to the left –Derek trying to take a shot at Kali but he misses she jerks back so his fist would barley skim her nose –head snap to the right. She turns again to the escalators where Deucalion stood along the pandemonium as if some king on a throne. She focused on her key target and approached the blind Alpha head on. He turned his head from Kali to Madison who was oncoming quickly. _

_Kali noticed the bold blonde's move and snarled. She moved away from Derek to defend the superior Alpha but Derek used this to his advantage and pulled her back by the collar of her shirt, tossing her onto the ground. _

_"Madison," Deucalion snarled, disturbed by her boldness. "I can feel your burning glare. Are you really going to be bold to attack me?" _

_Madison smirked. "I find it interesting how you title yourself to be this big, bad Alpha no one should mess with and yet," she motioned to the chaos around them, mindless or not whether he could see it or not. His brows furrowed in confusion and slight anxiety at her pause. He listened to her steps and heart beat but neither had moved or changed. "But yet," she continued, "you have your hounds do all the fighting to protect you. You're more as a representation figure who doesn't do shit," she sneered, quote Tabitha's words (when in a debate about the President) not minding the vulgarity of her choice of words. Deucalion sharply narrowed his eyes at her, disturbed by her observations. "Now you can prove me wrong," she challenged, providing a glimpse of her abnormally long canine teeth peeking over her lips as she grinned maliciously, "and come at me." _

_"Why don't come at me first," he seethed. She shook her head as her bright blue eyes glistened with malevolence. _

_"I don't need to," she taunted. Deucalion was leered back by her revelation. _

_"Are you a coward," he taunted, attempting to provoke a violent response. She sniggered. _

_She raised a brow, amused. "On contraire, you should know more than anyone else we're more alike than anything, and we're not cowards in the slightest –well at least I'm not –I can't be quite sure if I can say the same for you. We prefer psychological pursuits rather than physical altercations –but we're very much capable of both." She took a step closer and he flinched. She grinned at the reaction. "You're scared of me –not because of my size which Derek accounts as a weakness but we both know he doesn't know what the hell he's doing –but you know I'm a threat to all of you, your existence –with my presence alone. You know I am equally as manipulative as you and just as ruthless –and that makes us adversaries I suppose. But here's the difference between you and I –the one that already determines this battle is half won –is that I already acted." _

_He instinctively looked down at his arm –very aware of her point. "It could be lethal, it could be not –I could be lying to you or telling the truth –you can't trust my word and you can't predict me and that puts you at a disadvantage." She shrugged. "And you're scared because of our similarities I can get into your head –and unfortunately for you –I can. You're probably doubting this is some act I'm putting on because the bite is harmless but doubt me not, because I made sure you'd get infected, and you may not see it but I certainly can see it here and it does not look good. You've suspected something after it started to ache and throb, and then you started to feel weak headed with constant migraines. Your senses dulled as all the agonizing symptoms overrode everything else." She described. The fear stricken twitch on his frown provided her enough "And let me tell you, it only gets worse," she shrugged. _

_"So you just condemned me to death," Deucalion shook with rage. Madison titled her head deigning innocence. _

_"You act surprised. You didn't really think I'm some innocent child, did you? I won't give you my sob story –I find those a waste of time –but I will say what you already suspect –I'm not above _**anything**. _ I've seen the worst atrocities in my life and they molded me into the sociopath I am today –may I clarify 'sociopath' versus psychopath, although sometimes the lines blur," she mused while making small useless hand gestures. _

_"You said there was an antidote," Deucalion demanded. _

_"There is," Madison replied honestly but the smirk on her face insinuated something worse for him. "I suppose you want it." _

_He paused for a second, weighing his doubts. She could be lying, or she could be telling the truth –there was no telling –and if she was telling the truth there definitely had to be strings attached, but was he willing to accept those strings or try to outwit her to cut those strings? He'd have to risk it. _

_"For what price," he demanded. _

_"To call this stupid hunt off, that's it." _

_"No can do, sweetheart," he declined sharply. She shrugged. _

_"I can compromise," she offered. "Derek will be coaxed into a corner anyways –by either you or me –all I ask if that you spare his pack. Scott and Isaac…they're close to me." She admitted but she wasn't going to expose her weakness without granting it as a key element of strength, too. "Whatever happens to them will be rewarded –if they are protected, I'd be willing to extend my services to those who are kind enough –but I'm more than willing to terrorize and kill if necessary if they are put in danger and you know it, too." She snarled. _

_"I'm sure we can strike up a deal," he proposed. "You see, if Derek doesn't kill his pack, he's not the kind of Alpha we want in our pack, you understand that, don't you? What if we can offer you something in exchange for Isaac and Scott? I'm sure they don't mean as much as you think they mean to you." _

_She growled ferociously, startling Deucalion who frowned, realizing his mistake. "Or perhaps they do…" he submitted. "You never have been the kind of girl who was tied down. What is really tying you to them? Is it any obligation?" She remained silent. "You are a nomad, like me. We always look out for ourselves. I've heard stories of you –of how ruthlessly and callously you abandoned your pack of misfits for something better." He smirked as she stiffened, uncomfortable with the tables turned. "You could have killed them and put them out of their misery –it would have made you stronger." _

_"I don't want any more unnecessary killing," she confided strongly, staring at him intensely, "but you're right. I did move on to better things –how I don't get attached emotionally –and I see you're trying to use that to your argument to persuade me to drop any little strand of moral decency I have left and let me tell you, it won't work. I want Isaac and Scott alive and if something happens to them, I'll kill you and all those involved that's a part of your pack of crossbreeds." _

_"I think I see where you're going at," Deucalion smirked knowingly. Madison was stern in her posture as she tried to assess his shrewd expression. "You want his pack –for what reason, I don't know why –but you're willing to sacrifice Derek for the sake to preserve it little pack of misfits." He chuckled. "Tell me, why?"_

_"That's all speculation," she protested calmly, using her infamous cold stare and even voice, void of emotion, to throw him off. _

"Maddy, _Maddy,_" Tabitha called out. Her voice echoed in the desolate concrete structure as she tried to maneuver down to the level below. The distance between Madison's feet to the abandoned escalators below her were significant –enough so even she hesitated to get close to the edge. Tabitha caught Madison's motionless frame from a distance.

Madison stood in a daze, recounting every moment of her conversation with Deucalion, wondering if even a minute of it worked –if her words struck him as much as his spiteful actions following his disagreement wounded her. She continued to loom over the gaping hole in the floor, down to the neglected escalators below where Derek had plummeted in sacrifice.

Her back was faced to her as Tabitha descended down another level of escalators in the abandoned building, coming up behind her. Madison heard Tabitha's light footing behind her but didn't move in the slightest, still fixated on the escalator below her. She could imagine his mangled body sprawled on the steps, bones most likely broken and bent in unusual angles.

She swallowed the large lump in her throat and blinked away the sting building in her eyes. Tabitha came up from behind and lent a supportive hand, gathering Madison's gloved on in her own.

"We better get going," Tabitha coaxed. She caught the bright glistening in Madison's eyes and tugged her back, spinning her numb form around, and laying a guiding hand on her back, pushing her forward gently away from the sight. She used her other hand to secure the large strap on her shoulder, the one holding the large sniper rifle she had used earlier. It clinked against her back, as the barrel of the long gun extended past her rear and skimmed against her thigh. A small pouch in her pocket held the narrow bullets and shell casings she had scavenged from the floor earlier. "Do you need me to do anything?" She offered, resting her head against Madison' thickly padded shoulder.

It was too cold and too early in the morning for Madison to be without some kind of warmth, alongside her pea coat, she had wrapped a thick scarf around her neck but allowed her hair to fall freely over her shoulders and back. She put her hands in her long pockets and sighed heavily. Her voice shook still and she refused to talk, scared she might burst into a fit of body aching sobs –she had before and she didn't know she could erupt with so much emotion and pain for the arrogant, rash Alpha but the thought of his demise provoked another layer of burning tears in her tired, worn grey eyes.

"No," she croaked, "thank you though." She shortened whatever speech she was tempted to elaborate on but refused to be put at risk to fall prey to another fit of sobs to incapacitate her. She swallowed another lump. "You should get going. I can drop you off."

"Wait, you aren't going with me?" Tabitha asked, stunned.

Madison shook her head. "I…I need to find him," Madison explained. She glanced over her shoulder and frowned. "He didn't deserve to die like that. We ought to give him a proper burial. That's the least we can do."

Tabitha nodded agreeably but something her dark eyes said different as she took in the wear and exhaustion in Madison's ghostly eyes. "But," Tabitha encouraged differently, "like your dad said last night, you need to live a normal life –as normal as you can –and this," she motioned around them, "and last night –_was not normal in the least_. I understand you are grieving –as you can –but maybe the Cross Country trip will be a good distraction –plus you're part of the team. Coach will get mad if you're not there." she coaxed. Madison rolled her eyes in rebellion, annoyed by the trivial matter. "Scott, Isaac, and Boyd will be there –they need your help, too, and you can't defend them if you're on the home front doing nothing, you know what I mean? Scott took it just as hard as you did –and he's hurt, too, physically."

They stopped outside, taking in the early dawn as the sun rose over the concrete complexes composing the small urban corner of Beacon Hills. Madison looked at Tabitha incredulously, not used to having the roles reversed, but yet, Madison accepted what Tabitha was preaching.

"My dad paid you to say this, didn't he," Madison accused tiredly. Tabitha shook her head.

"No, he didn't have to pay me. He makes sense, Mads." Tabitha sighed while searching for her keys in her army green jacket. "Peter and the rest of his family are staying behind –they'll find Derek. He's their priority right now and I think it's more a family matter than anything else. Focus on the ones who need you, not the ones who've already passed," she finished, guiding Madison to her boxy SUV parked outside the desolate building.

_Teen Wolf _

Tabitha was preoccupied with a page of Sudoku, scribbling number down the row as Madison's heavy head rested upon her shoulder like a makeshift pillow. Madison's light breathing calmed Tabitha –know very well how stressed her best friend was with the recent past events. From her peripheral vision, she caught Stiles and Scott next to them staring at Madison's unconscious form in concern.

"She's just sleeping," Tabitha whispered. She erased a 5 from a box and replaced it with a 3. "She didn't get much sleep as you can guess." Madison's eye lids fluttered and Tabitha immediately coaxed her back to a deep sleep by rubbing her back. Madison sighed and snuggled closer to Tabitha's warm profile.

"Try a 7," Stiles suggested. Tabitha looked at him strangely, not catching what he meant at first. He rolled his eyes lightly and lifted up his palms, holding up 7 fingers and then pointed to the page she was on. She made an 'o' with a lips, suddenly understanding his message and smiled graciously, filling in the unwritten box to complete the row. "So, I've been meaning to ask… Scott said you weren't there last night, well, you were, but not with Madison, well obviously you were, but not, like, fighting…" Stiles stuttered. Tabitha's fingers froze and she felt her heart skip a beat as she realized he might be getting _somewhere _where she promised Madison would not be revealed for the sake of both their safety. Stiles caught the perk in her head jerk as if startled.

"Well obviously, since I'm coughing up blood, it's not exactly the best thing for me to get into the middle of Alphas. I did my part though," she excused. Stiles leaned back, seemingly believing her on-the-spot explanation but even he knew from her harsh tone that something was amiss.

"Yeah, with the sniper rifle," Stiles accounted. Tabitha nodded silently, ignoring a direct answer that could possibly give her real reasoning away. She scribbled a sequence of 3, an 8, and a 5 in a box, disgruntled by both Stiles' inquiries and the fact none of her numbers fit the whole problem. "Why a sniper rifle," he probed.

"It did the job, didn't it?" Tabitha retorted sharply. She purposely focused on the page to avoid making eye contact with Stiles. Stiles' narrowed his in frustration and was tempted to pull the stupid book from her hands but knew better so he fiddled with his fingers instead.

He pulled out his iPad to rival Tabitha's old-school Sudoku book, remembering a favor Scott had asked him to do for his SAT and ACT prep.

"Yo, Scotty," Stiles turned to his best friend. He clicked with his tongue in repetition, stirring Scott out of his daze. "Hey, yo," Stiles clicked again, "Scotty, still with me?"

"Yeah, uh, sorry," Scott grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Uh, what's the word?"

"Anachronism," Stiles read out loud. Tabitha was tempted to nudge Madison so she could answer for Scott –it was her favorite game to out-smart others it seemed –but she also knew Madison valued her sleep and continued to play her Sudoku game instead.

"Something that exists out of its normal time," Scott replied. Tabitha nodded sideways, impressed. She reached down and grabbed a fruit snack packet from her bag between her and Madison and chewed on a gummy, savoring its cherry taste before swallowing it. Stiles eyed the food hungrily, upset internally for forgetting snacks and tempted to ask Tabitha if he could use some of hers.

"Nice, okay," Stiles continued, still bothered by the food in Tabitha's hand. She caught his gaze and grinned, shaking her head and purposely popping another in her mouth to tease him. He narrowed his eyes and rebuffed her temporarily. "Next word –incongruous," he read. Tabitha loomed over and read the description under the word.

"Um, could you use it in a sentence?"

"Yes, yes I can. It is completely incongruous that we're sitting on a bus right now on our way to a stupid cross-country meet after what just happened. Incongruous," Stiles seethed. Tabitha winced, surprised by his heated tone and decided to stay put in her seat tending to Madison who stirred once again, displaced by Stiles' loud, obnoxious voice.

"Out of place, ridiculous, absurd," Scott replied.

"Perfect," Stiles awarded, flashing Scott a thumbs up.

"Okay, next word," Stiles continued. "Um, Darach. Darach, it's a noun." Scott turned from the window and stared at Stiles incredulously. Tabitha in turn paid attention to their expressions. She, having been present with Stiles with 'Darach' was introduced, was just as involved as any other person. "We have to talk about it sometime, okay? And we're going to be stuck in this thing for like five hours, so why not?" Stiles took in Scott's ominous silence and decided to move onward, procrastinating on the subject for now. "Next word," he announced, focusing on his screen.

_"I know where they are," Scott's excited voice entered her dream. Madison's mental vision blurred at first, taking in his shadowed frame as the doors parted and he pried himself through the slim opening. Her vision cleared –enough to recognize his flannel and jeans as he hurried into the room. _

_Madison, at the end of the table next to Derek and Boyd while perpendicular to his little sister and his Uncle, turned simultaneously as the rest from the desk to welcome Scott silently with intense stares. She had beaten Scott there –as always –and was initiated into the conversation prior. _

_"Same building as the Argents," Derek answered for Scott. "We know." _

_"Cora and I followed the twins," Boyd explained. _

_Madison shrugged. "I'm with you, Scott. I didn't know until minutes ago." _

_"Then they want you to know," Scott realized. Madison raised a brow and eyed Derek critically, taking in Scott's perception and what risk the knowledge could possibly pose for them. She prepared her phone, answering another text from Tabitha. _

_"Or more likely they don't care," Peter retorted. _

_"Either way, our element of surprise is demolished," Madison sighed heavily. "They're expecting us," she observed. "They have the advantage now," she seethed, growing more and more frustrated with the turn of events. Her foot tapped incessantly on the floor. Derek glared down at it, not appreciating the noise in the slightest but she wouldn't relent. _

_"What is this," Scott demanded. He approached the desk cautiously, taking in the maps and comments. _

_"Isn't it obvious?" Peter remarked. "The schemers are scheming. Coming up with a coup de main –better known as a preemptive strike," Peter clarified. _

_"You're going after them?" Scott asked, appalled. Madison shook her head in pure disagreement. Scott noticed this and realized she was the only one siding with him as she pushed herself off the table's edge and joined his side, standing between him and Peter. _

_"Tomorrow," Derek said. "You're going to help us," he ordered. Madison shook her head furiously. _

_"It's a fucking trap," she hissed. "Scott shouldn't be sacrificed because you all don't know what the hell you're doing, amateurs." They remained silent. "Do I really have to spell it out for you?" She demanded loudly. Cora winced next to her, startled by the whip of her sharp voice. Madison rolled her eyes. "It won't be a surprise attack if they already know we know where they are –they _supplied us that information_ because they expect us to use it! For God's sake, are you that stupid? I know Derek isn't the brightest bulb but I didn't think he got it from you, Peter. Where did this moment of dullness come from? I expected more from you," she ranted passionately, gesturing at both the Hales. Derek shifted backwards, offended by her insult even though he ought to be used to them by now. "If they are supplying that to us –and expect us to bite at it like you guppy's are," she asserted, glaring at all them. "Then it means they are prepared for any kind of attack. We're falling into a trap, just like last time." She rolled her eyes. "Are you newbies at this? I guess so because I'm really above all these childish antics," she chastised. _

_…_

_"There is one floor above them in the penthouse," Derek described. Madison seethed in a corner quietly, whispering to her phone obviously talking to someone else. She ruffled her hair again in irritation, Derek caught with his peripheral vision, "right above Allison's," he finished, focusing on the others surrounding the table. _

_"So kill them first, that's the plan?" Scott insisted skeptically. _

_"They won't even see it coming," Boyd swore. _

_Madison sneered and came forward with phone in hand, speaker reader for whoever was on the other end. _

_"Why is the default plan always murder?" Scott asked, visibly disapproving of the intended course of action. "Just once can someone try to come up with something that doesn't involve killing everyone?" _

_"You don't ever get tired of being so blandly moral, do you?" Peter remarked, glaring at the young boy. _

_"How about we all stop being idiots and not plan anything so rashly this early in the stage," Madison grumbled. She laid the phone down on the surface next to her palm as she loomed over the desk. "Not that I disagree with him," Peter remarked to Derek. _

_"I do," Cora spoke up. _

_Madison stiffened and tapped her foot against the floor, looking down to hide the irate expression on her face. "Why do we need this kid?" She sneered. _

_"This kid helped save your life," Derek stated, "and we know we can't sit back and wait for them to make the first move." _

_"You can't beat a pack of Alphas," Scott insisted. Madison seethed silently as her anger boiled. _

_"That's why we're going after Deucalion," Cora insisted smugly, "just him." _

_"And cut off the head of the snake," Boyd supported her, "and the body dies." His encouragement was over rode by Madison's blood curdling roar, pounding her palm against the surface with enough force to crack it. Scott jumped back, startled, and tripped in his haste, stumbling onto the floor, forced to look up at Madison's trembling form. _

_"OH MY GOD," Madison screamed at Cora. All parties jolted back in fright at Madison's explosion of anger. Her eyes burned a bloody red as she glared at the mouthy young girl. "STOP TALKING," she emphasized with murderous hand gestures mimicking something along the lines of strangling Cora did not miss. "I do not like the sound of your voice mouthing off like you know everything! So for God's sake, please shut up, before I snap and _snap _your neck like I should've done the first time if it wasn't for your idiot older brother_! I literally killed for less!_ So unless you want to lie in the puddle of your own blood with your head 30 or so feet away from your body, or perhaps your intestines pulled like spaghetti with your blood as the substitute marinara sauce, or end up like your sister, pried apart as I snap your spine and claw your useless corpse into two pieces, SHUT UP!" _

_Cora stared gaping at the explosive blond, trembling besides Boyd who was equally terrified of the vicious raptor known as Madison. Tears lined her hazel eyes as Madison continued to glare at her, imagining ways to end her existence. Derek and Peter were stunned silent, very much frightened of Madison's impulsive urges. _

_"Stop crying," she growled at Cora. "For God's sake, if you want to be mouthy, at least learn to eat it if you want to dish it." She turned to Scott who was petrified. "Keep planning your suicides. If you really want me to act it out, keep on staring. I dare you." Derek swallowed painfully. "Since everyone's so scared to talk now," she growled, "I'm going to talk now and you're going to listen," she ordered fiercely. "This is a pack of ALPHAS we're dealing with –more strength, more numbers, and probably more experience and training than you pathetic sores. You are not going to win with a surprise attack –Deucalion manipulated you _again _–setting up this opportunity for you to attack him when he's the most prepared for such a rash and stupid decision. You guys fail to see he initiated _all _of this because he's smarter than you and just as smart as me –exactly why I can see what he's doing and you imbeciles don't. Second, the element of strength is far more superior to yours –you have infantile betas while he has _murderous _alphas that have and will kill again. Thirdly, _Boyd, _again, they are all _individual _alphas –it works as a democracy, not a basic Beta-Alpha relationship or else they'd be betas _like you. _Get it? Got it? Good, because I'm not going to repeat it," she snarled. "Now, I got a military genius on the line hearing you bicker and plot for the past few minutes and I guarantee you she's just as displeased as I am. She may not be here now but she certainly will make more sense than you do. Tabitha, you have the floor, and anyone who interrupts will get their neck snapped." She threatened all of them, "and one little mouthy bitch will get an addition side of decapitation because I've had it up to her with her," she gestured to her head while glaring mercilessly at Cora. _

_"That was entertaining," Tabitha opened over speaker, "but pitiful. Madison got the key points rights –and she's right about the rest. The enemy only exposes their location when they plan something to their advantage –it's like cheese to a mouse –so you better thank Madison later for catching it or else you would be cat food –err- wolf food, either way, dead meat. My best plan of attack –don't. Look, Deucalion expects you to do exactly what you were just doing and you need to do the opposite –keep him in suspense –if you don't act then he'll suspect you're up to something yourself. He'll spend a little time trying to analyze before confronting you. Use that to your advantage and spend that time making your defenses and setting up key locations and choreograph assault plans per member and whatever you do don't hit them all at once –for God's sake –you can't be that delusional. You must dwindle their numbers gradually –start with the weakest link –that is the most practical route from this standpoint." _

_"Anything else," Madison asked. _

_"Find a backup," Tabitha insisted. "You should have some kind of sniper or sharp long range shoot to keep the battle in check. They won't be as strong if they are being assaulted from both sides. Madison isn't a sharp shooter –she's a fighter –but Allison has the skill and weaponry." _

_"No way," Scott proclaimed. _

_Madison suddenly swung her palm from the desk to her right where Scott protested and scratched his face. The shock was so strong he was forced onto the ground, clutching his cheek as the sting of the scratch and fresh flow of blood disturbed him. He looked at Madison, hurt and betrayed. Madison was unsympathetic and turned her gaze from the wounded Beta back to the phone. _

_"Please don't tell me you killed Scott," Tabitha calmly asked. _

_"Nope, just clawed his face," Madison replied smoothly. _

_"Yikes…" Tabitha groaned. _

_"About the back-up…you're a sharp shooter yourself, yes?" Madison inquired. _

_"Yes…" _

_"And you have access to a sniper rifle," Madison accused, "the one your dad has in the shed that belong to Todd –the one Tyler can grab and drop off at your place," she insinuated. _

_"I'll get right on it," Tabitha complied. _

_"I love you my little spitfire," Madison cooed. _

_"I love you, too, my blonde ball of crazy," Tabitha bid just was affectionately. Madison chuckled lowly and hung up the phone, ignoring the bewildered expressions everyone cast. "If anyone has anything to say about me being 'loving' with my adoptive sister –you can keep it to yourself or else I'll rip your tongue out." Everyone nodded in complacency. _


	16. Loss and Allegiance P2-5 (3x05 Frayed)

**PART 2**

Tabitha's focus was pulled away from the male duo as Madison pulled her head from Tabitha's shoulder and rubbed her eyes vigorously to wake them. "How long was I out," the pale blonde groaned, cringing at the sensitivity of her ringing ear buds as a flash of lightening outside her window was followed by a booming clap of thunder.

"About 20-30 minutes," Tabitha said softly. Madison nodded and needled her forehead with gentle fingers, groaning at the ache in her head. "We still have a while to go. You can go back to sleep. I don't mind."

"No, it's okay," Madison declined. "I need to be awake anyways."

At that moment, a sudden bump on the bus jolted them. Madison was bounced awake as her head hit the glass of the window. She groaned simultaneously with Scott who doubled over, clutching the side of his torso. Madison caught the motion and focused in with concern.

"Whoa buddy, you okay?" Stiles asked.

Madison climbed over Tabitha, shoving her closer to the window as Madison loomed over the aisle to get a closer looks. She caught a look of pure agony on Scott's face and her worry skyrocketed.

"We shouldn't have come. I knew it, we shouldn't have come."

"Damn right you shouldn't have," Madison hissed. "Scott, let me look at it," she ordered, reaching out with her hand, passing Stiles, to tug on Scott's jacket.

Scott flinched. "We had to," he justified. "There's safety in numbers."

"Yeah, well, there's also death in numbers, okay? It's called a massacre, bloodbath, carnage, slaughter, butchery, wow…." He looked up synonyms. Madison chortled.

"Annihilation, obliteration, extermination, genocide…" Madison supplied a few of her own without the aid of technology. Stiles shot her a cold look. "Just trying to brighten your vocabulary," she defended.

"Those words aren't exactly 'bright,'" Stile shot back.

Scott groaned loudly as the throbbing pain overwhelmed half his side. Madison turned from Stiles to Scott and reached out to pull his jacket again as Stiles berated him. "Alright Scott, I'm telling Coach-"

"No, no, no, no," Scott objected passionately. "I'm all right," he insisted.

"You are not all right," Madison protested simultaneously as Stiles exclaimed "_Well, you don't look 'all right.'_"

"Just let us see it," Stiles insisted, reaching down to tug at the jacket just as Madison had. Scott flinched away.

"I'm okay," he insisted again. Madison glared at his face then back at the proposed area of the wound.

"Just let me see it, kay?" Stiles coaxed. Scott hesitantly agreed with a short nod as Stiles slapped away Madison's hands. Madison growled but Stiles was undeterred. He turned his torso and exposed a gruesome, bloody wound. Tabitha choked.

"Oh God, there goes my appetite," the young brunette complained. She covered her eyes with her hands to avoid any more stomach hurling images. Madison was equally disturbed by the severity of the wound as two long claw marks coursed down his side, extending into small branches that bled profusely.

"Ah, dude," Stiles gasped.

"I know it looks bad but it's because they are from an Alpha. It will take longer to heal." Scott insisted.

"No, Scott. That is not normal. Even I healed last night, and so should you. Something is wrong with that. It wasn't Deucalion, was it?" Madison demanded in fright, jolting upwards. Scott shook his head. Madison sighed internally, relieved whatever infection she passed onto the highest Alpha wasn't inflicted onto Scott but it still didn't explain why it wasn't healing. She knitted her brows together in confusion.

"How come Boyd and Isaac are fine," Stiles challenged, siding with Madison on the matter. Scott ignored the question, infuriating Stiles.

"I can't believe he's dead," Scott drifted off, falling to a trance like sleep. His head rested on the window, eyes gazing out towards the green and golden valley of the desert but his mind was elsewhere, told by his troubled dark eyes. "I can't believe Derek's dead," he choked. Madison stiffened.

Tabitha tugged Madison back, preventing her from speaking as she was aware Madison's personal feelings would be concealed with a cold response in attempt to coax Scott out of his own emotional turmoil, something along the lines of "well, we have to adapt" or a similar phase. Madison kept silent, allowing Scott to grieve as her own friends and family advised her to do the same.

_Teen Wolf _

"Am I getting to close? I'm getting way too close aren't I…?" Allison panicked as she slowed her Toyota down, but the space between the Sedan and the Bus didn't alter much.

"That depends," Lydia replied nonchalantly from the passenger side. "Are you just following the bus or you… planning on mounting it at some point?" She played with her words.

"Yeah, I should back off," Allison whispered, taking her friend's words to heart. She casted a sideways look to her rear view mirror.

"Well Al, it depends… uh, do you mean the bus or the ex-boyfriend you're currently stalking?" Lydia pointed, playing with her hair coolly while shooting Allison coy looks.

"Well after what happened, I'm not letting him out of my sight," Allison justified. Lydia scoffed. "And by the way, this all started when he and Madison came knocking on my door," she clarified.

"For what," Lydia wondered.

"They had questions," Allison began ambiguously.

_The Night before… _

_Scott showcased the arrow in front of Allison while Madison focused on her phone, typing furiously with rapid fingers across the screen –composing a long text or e-mail of some sort. Madison wasn't as interested in the brunette as she was with her iPhone while Scott tried to be stern with Allison but failed with his face broke out with his trademark childish grin. _

_"I found outside of the school right where Isaac got Boyd and Cora to turn back," Scott explained. Allison focused on the weaponry, trying to conjure a quick excuse. _

_"How do you know it's not from the archery team?" _

_Madison chortled. _

_"We don't have an archery team," Scott retorted. _

_"And even if we did…" Madison began, looking up from her screen but Scott shut her down with a stern expression. She respected his silent decision and continued to finish her message to Tabitha. _

_"Oh…" _

_"And even if we did," he added. Madison smirked, knowing he was saying exactly what she was going to. "They probably wouldn't be using military grade armor piercing titanium arrow heads." Madison rolled her eyes and slid her phone back into her pocket, now focused on the pair with her trademark intense grey-blue eyes –the very ones that seemed to shift shades from ghostly to vibrant or icy depending on her mood, Allison observed. "I looked it up," he announced proudly, flicking the head of the arrow. _

_"Maybe it's one of my fathers," Allison followed with excuse B. Madison raised a brow, fully aware of her deceit with the rise of her heart beat. Allison cursed her in her head for being so observant and keen-sensed. Madison didn't seem to say a word though, as if respecting their new-found 'bond' or compromise, Allison had hoped. _

_"I thought you guys had some kind of agreement where you both stay out of all this," Scott retorted, dropping his tone to a sterner one. Madison was slightly impressed with the maturity of his disposition and inquiries. She granted him a quick nod of approval. _

_"Is that why you came here…to tell me to stay out this?" Allison accused. Madison shrugged. _

_"I came here for different reasons. I just met him outside the building," Madison defended, "but to be honest, I've warned you before –this situation is a lot more severe than what you expect. Try me multiplied by 5," she described. Scott's head bowed slightly, agreeing with her example. _

_"No," Scott conflicted though, disagreeing with his actions. _

_"Okay," Allison settled, slightly confused. She leaned forward to get her jacket off the foot of her bed to escape the awkward situation. "Well I can take care of myself," she proclaimed to both of them. Madison smirked –humored by her attempt –while the glint in her darkening navy eyes reminded Allison perhaps she wasn't as strong as she thought she was. She advanced anyways –keeping her image and pride intact. _

_"I know," Scott mumbled. Madison shot him a disapproving look as she passed through them towards the door way. _

_"Let's not say things we don't mean," Madison directed at both of them sternly, all seriousness in her darkening eyes. "We don't need any more delusion dreamers around here besides Derek." _

_"But, these guys, Allison…" Scott reprimanded. "If you didn't notice, they're pretty terrifying." _

_"Like I said," Madison backed him up, stepping from behind him as he spun to meet Allison's skeptical eyes. "Imagine me –same cunning, same ruthlessness, same thirst for blood –times five and subtract any possible humanity or remorse." Scott nodded agreeably. "Plus they have some serious advantages like super human strength." _

_"You're pretty strong and I can handle you," Allison bantered, smiling flirtatiously. Madison groaned and shook her head. _

_"Me," Scott accepted the coy challenge. _

_"You don't think I'd have a change against you?" Allison rebutted, offended by his doubt. _

_"I didn't…say that," Scott declined awkwardly, shifting nervously with his feet and looking aside for a moment to avoid her accusing dark eyes. _

_"Maybe you didn't notice," Allison persuaded, "but," she shrugged, "I'm pretty good with a bow and arrow." _

_"And I'm good with my claws," Madison offered, waving her hand to display her long talons. Allison recoiled at the sight. "My point exactly," she sneered. _

_"Kay, well, what if you didn't have it," Scott challenged, motioning to Madison. Allison was brought back to the Library where Madison had her pinned against the shelf. She shook the thought away just as quickly as it had come. "We still have super strength." _

_"I have skills and training," Allison testified. Madison rolled her eyes. _

_"I have more skills and training," the bright silver blonde muttered. Scott caught her words and nodded, very much aware of her capabilities. _

_"I have claws –like she has claws –both of us have claws," Scott waved his hand. _

_"And teeth," Madison supplied, smiling to show her long, extended canines. _

_"I'm smarter," she retorted at Scott. Madison shook her head disapprovingly but said nothing, stepping aside to let them banter between themselves. She sat down on Allison's bed, resting her feet. _

_"Well, I'm faster," he debated. _

_Madison raised her hand, gesturing to herself. "Let me just clarify for all of you I'm the _fastest_, making Allison the _slowest." _Allison ignored her and continued to stare at Scott. _

_"Prove it," she provoked with a low whispered. _

_She flung her fist towards his face –provoking his reflex and found her wrist caught in the clutches of his palm. Madison golf-clapped quietly behind him as Allison attempted to do the same with her other arm, keeping intense eye contact with Scott –hoping to distract him –but he caught that one, too. He spun her around. _

_"Mere child's play," Madison grumbled, glaring at the two teenagers flirting. _

_Madison was brought back to her own training sessions –runs and drills at night, chasing down scents and others like herself –and then having to corner them as they cower, overwhelmed with fatigue and exhaustion. She had to stare into their eyes and remind herself it was the battle of the fittest –repressing her humanity –but some got to her. The eyes of death reflected back at her would haunt her for the rest of her existence –having to make the decision to kill another –a decision she could easily make before rashly but now as she understood it and faced it, she felt the guilt weigh her down. _

_She was brought back from her dark daydream as Allison collapsed beside her, visibly tense and upset at a beaten battle. She slid onto the floor next to Madison's dangling boot-worn feet as Scott opened the door. _

_"Allison," Scott called out loudly. Both girls turned their heads to face him. "The twins were just messing with us. I've seen the others –both of us," he nodded at Madison. "I'm not telling you this because I don't think you couldn't easily kick my ass if you wanted to, I'm telling you this because they scare the hell out of me… And they should scare you, too." _

_"Why are you still here," Allison demanded as Scott closed to door. She glared at Madison which whom the question was flung at. Madison seemed unharmed or unmoved by the harsh tone. _

_"Because we have a lot to talk about –but I'll cut it short because I have a strict schedule tonight," she replied callously. Allison stiffened as Madison loomed over her. Some of her silver strands tickled against Allison's cheek. "Scott's right about the Alphas but I won't go into that. What I do want to get into is that fact my dad's back –don't ask how, long story –and he swears he's not seeking revenge –and I believe him –and I also believe him when he said he never had an affair with Kate. You didn't find 'Lucille' in France, did you? You searched –as did Tabi and I –but there was no clue of. She was just some story Gerard and her concocted to deceive Chris." She sighed. "The picture he had of 'Lucy' –the one you told me about –it wasn't Lucy obviously." _

_"Who was it then," Allison asked curiously. _

_"It was my aunt –Anastasia. How he got the photo, I don't know, but I do know she's safe where she's at." _

_"And your dad…he's back… where is he staying?" _

_"I don't know," Madison shrugged. "That's about enough time I have. I need to get going. I'll see you tonight then." _

_"Huh, where, what are you talking about," Allison fumbled, standing up as Madison walked to the door. "Maddy!" _

_Madison turned slightly. "Allison, when have you ever followed the rules," she accused lightly, smirking. Allison got the hint and smiled back. "You may be physically weaker than us but you do have the advantage of distance and archery. Scott may be looking out to protect you but he needs more protecting than anything else," Madison confided seriously. "Just don't tell him I gave you permission," she chuckled. _

_Allison smiled. "I won't. So you really are looking out for him. You know, you're true colors are showing –and they aren't all bad." _

_Madison shook her head vigorously. "Don't say that quite yet. I'm not a good guy, Allison," she straightened her lips into a firm, strict line._

_"But you're not a bad guy either," Allison defended. _

_"I'm willing to do some awful atrocities," Madison conflicted. _

_"But for the right reasons," Allison accused. Madison sighed. _

_"I really hope so," she wished. _

_Scott didn't bother to wait for Madison as he stormed into the elevator, blissfully unaware of his passenger along for the ride until the stranger's voice casted him out of his thoughts and into a panic mode. _

_"Going down?" It had asked. _

_Scott leered back as he recognized the blind man and his cane. His eyes widened and he desperately wished he had waited for Madison –from what Derek had told –Madison had made an impression on the Alpha –enough to cause a scar? He didn't see anything under Deucalion's long black sleeves but he did know that Deucalion didn't seem the slightest weak. _

_"Come on Scott, put those away," Deucalion insisted, sensing Scott's extended claws. "I'd have to be blind, deaf, and a quadriplegic for you to be an actual threat or maybe you should take a chance like your friend Madison." Deucalion moved to the wall and inhaled sharply. "Your heart beats steady. You might be afraid of me but you're controlling it. Maybe you'd actually rise to the occasion, become an Alpha, like killing one –perhaps me or one of the others –Derek, Madison…?" _

_"I'm not like you," Scott protested. "I don't have to kill people." _

_"Hmm, not yet but situations come about, situations where you realize the only way to protect one person is to kill another." _

_"You want to threaten me," Scott accused, "is that why you're here?" _

_"No, I live here," he shrugged nonchalantly. _

_"What?" _

_"I live here," Deucalion repeated. "It's a great building and the neighbors are…surprisingly friendly," he took a sharp shot, knowing Scott would get defensive about the mention of Allison. _

_"What do you want," Scott demanded. _

_"I want to see what you're made of," Deucalion stepped forward, sizing him up. _

_The bell of the elevator rang and Deucalion separated from Scott, turning to the dividing doors. A line of people came in, while Scott looked at Deucalion in a daze, unsure and confused. He seeped out slowly and wearily. _

_"Could someone hit the button for pent house?" Deucalion requested, feigning helplessness while Scott looked at him with bewilderment, paralyzed in front of the elevator alone in the lobby. _

_Teen Wolf _

A shrill whip of the coach's whistle stung both the sensitive hearing of Madison and Scott who winced. "Two of you," the coach demanded to two of her other schoolmates', "back in your seats."

"Jared," he chastised, stopping mid isle to look down upon a junior. Madison couldn't see from her seat as she had reclined back to finish half of Tabitha's unfinished Sudoku puzzle. "Again, car sick, every –how do you even get on the bus? Look at me! No, don't look at me, look at the horizon! Keep your eyes –keep your eyes on the horizon. McCall," Coach diverted his attention, noticing Scott's leaning stance, "not you, too!"

Madison barely paid attention to them as she focused on the last square. She popped a Dorito chip into her mouth, crunching it as she chewed –earning a hungry glance from Stiles who was still very much food deprived. Tabitha was sharing the small bag with Madison, putting it in the middle.

"No, Coach, I'm good," Scott covered.

"Scott, you're bleeding again," Stiles noticed a moment later when Scott couldn't hide a groan of pain. Madison took notice and looked at the area of wound with sharp eyes. "And don't tell me it's just taking longer to heal, okay, because I'm sure 'it' still bleeding means not healing, like, _at all,_" Stiles asserted strongly.

"He's listening," Scott noticed, eyeing Ethan.

"Good," Madison added, snarling, "then he knows what dead meat he is –just like the big guy." Ethan stiffened at her voice and looked over his shoulder, catching her cold, icy stare, flinched, and turned around to avoid her soul hardening glare.

"Is he going to do something?" Stiles inquired.

"Not in front of this many people," Scott replied honestly.

"Okay, w-what about the two ticking time bombs sitting right near him?" Stiles persisted.

Boyd turned around, catching the reference. Madison snarled over her seat, reasserting Boyd to face forwards to ignore her fiery glare as her eyes blazed red momentarily before dulling back to a cold ghostly grey-blue.

"No they won't," Scott said adamantly. "Not here."

"Okay, what if they do? Are you going to stop them?" Stiles questioned.

"I will," Madison said, nodding at Scott. He smiled slightly, showing his appreciation before grimacing at the pain of his side again.

"If we have to," Scott agreed.


	17. Loss and Allegiance P3-5 (3x05 Frayed)

_Teen Wolf _

The bus came to a crashing halt, thrusting Stiles and an unsuspecting Tabitha forward, bruising them with the force of the impact their bodies took from the back of the bus seat ahead of them. The food between them splattered onto bus floor as the bag was flown forward. Stiles leapt to 'help' her, kneeling on the ground to gather the various fruit snacks, granola bars, curled bag of chips, and fruit boxes and stealing a fruit box, along with a fruit snack.

"You little bastard," she cursed as he returned the rest in the bag and returned to his seat. "That was the last pouch of the good flavors," she hissed. "Seriously," she whined. Stiles grinned victoriously and sipped from his newly acquired beverage while ripping the plastic pouch in half and pouring the gummies into his palm. She glared at him while Madison chuckled.

The atmosphere changed when Scott abruptly got up, staring directing ahead where Boyd growled lowly. Madison stiffened and climbed over Tabitha for the second time, forcing her back to the window seat as she stepped into the aisle.

"W-What…Scott, what are you doing?" Stiles demanded.

"Boyd… he's going to do something," Scott gasped –out of pain and in panic of the chaos to ensue.

"O-Okay, how do you know," Stiles sat up straight, restless at the rise of potential danger and chaos.

"Look at his hands," Scott pointed. Madison caught the clawed hand wrap around the seat corner, stabbing it. Madison stood up straight,

_Teen Wolf_

Sloane meant business as quickly found the Madison had described. It wasn't hard to navigate in the desolate building, finding the lowest of the inactive escalators. There were two spots in which blood remained on either row confusing him slightly as he walked up to both to get both handles on the scent. He had seen Derek before –so he knew what he looked like –and a _hint_ of his scent –all he needed was something to compare it to the verify it. The first sample he took was too weak while the other had a wider area of splatter.

"This is probably it," Sloane mused, kneeling down. It had the same rich stench of burnt wood left over from years of exposure to Hale's older home.

"What are you doing," a girl demanded, marching forward. He stood up –revealing his true, intimidating height –and glared down at the brave young Beta but also criticized her for her rashness. "Who are you?"

"You must be the 'mouthy' one," Sloane mumbled to himself. "You're either quite brave or quite stupid to be charging at an Alpha like that," he called out. She stopped short and stared up at his build –broad shoulders and a lengthy body well above her own. His cold blue eyes reminded her of Madison's and wondered if there was a connection. "I'm Sloane, Sloane Dubolazov, and you are?"

"Cora," she snarled. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing a favor for my daughter –you might know her. Her name is Madison." Cora's face pale as she took in the revelation. No wonder the two looked so alike. Same sharp, cold blue eyes and pale blond hair, along with their natural imposing presence demanding attention with a straight spine and smooth walk that radiated confidence. If that was the case, no doubt Madison was his daughter and he was her father. The likeness was so uncanny –black jacket and all –she almost felt sick. "Ah, so I see you've met her. She usually has that effect on people. I'm sorry for her temper –it gets the best of us sometimes," he apologized lightly. "She gets it from her mother. Aubrey was very…vocal whenever she was dissatisfied." He nodded lightly. "Although I suppose many other of her attributes comes from my family gene –it's fairly dominant." He descended down the steps to tower over the girl. "You're Derek's sister, fantastic. Would you mind guiding me to his residence so I can catch a better scent?"

"I believe this doesn't concern you, Sloane," Peter Hale spoke up as he approached the top of the escalators. He waved a hand to calm Cora who jolted at the new presence. "It's just me, your uncle, Uncle Peter…" Peter Hale noticed something on top of railing but Sloane couldn't see what due to being on the lowest of the ground.

"Uncle Peter who killed Sister Laura," Cora remarked coldly.

"Hmm, not my finest hour, I know, but I'm hardly the only dysfunction family member. Did Derek mention that he killed me, too? Slashed my throat ear to ear," he retorted as Cora ascended up the escalators, Sloane in tow, closing the distance between the three.

"So does that mean I should trust you?" Cora challenged doubtfully.

"I think we all need to trust each other –sour sentiments aside," Sloane said from behind.

"Actually I'm wondering if I can trust you," Peter countered. Sloane shook his head at the pitiful display of mistrust and personal agendas overriding the bigger cause. No wonder Madison had a short fuse with each and one of them. "I trust Madison's instincts and when she makes it clear repeatedly she doesn't trust you, I begin to wonder what she sees. Madison's never wrong –her instincts kept her alive –and I wonder perhaps keeping you alive was bad judgment on our part. It seems like she's the only one who sees clearly now given the past events. She says kill you, we spare you, and when she says don't attack, we attack –and our actions resulted in the death of our own. Perhaps we need to reassess."

"Huh, so she's the golden child," Cora sneered. "How long have you known her? Not long as you've known me. You've known me for 17 years."

"I _knew _you," Peter clarified, "for eleven, leaving last six unaccounted for, the same six years I've known Madison, and I'm not particularly fond of things unaccounted."

"What are you doing here –both of you," she demanded.

"Same as you," Peter replied, "wondering where the bodies went, wondering if they were carried out or maybe if one of them managed to find enough strength to push himself' up off the floor and walk out, leaving the three of us standing here to answer the only important question…"

"_Which one_," Cora answered.

"I'm doing this as a favor for Maddy. She wants to find Derek but being that she's preoccupied, I promised I'd help her and make use of my talents," Sloane explained. "My skills would be beneficial for both of you."

"And what's that," Cora spun around to face him. Peter shook his head.

"Don't talk to Sloane like that," Peter chastised. "He a very important man from a very important family with the reputation of the best damn tracker the likes of us have ever seen."

"Oh yeah," Cora rebutted skeptically, "Certified by who?"

Sloane's jaw tightened. "I can see why Madison is quick to lose her temper around you. I'm feeling a bit irritated as well when dealing like naïve youth such as you. I understand you are young, Cora, but I'll only say this once. I will not tolerate any such forms of disrespect. I'm not certified by anyone but myself with _decades _of experience that you can't even dream to rival. Is that clear, Ms. Hale," Sloane demanded. Cora nodded slowly, alarmed by his callous and cold voice much different from Madison's heated on but both had the desire effect to frighten Cora. Peter smirked.

_Teen Wolf _

Madison followed Scott faithfully as he struggled up the aisle. She would only be back up as Scott had to figure out his own way to lead but she was tempted to all but slice Ethan's face as she passed him, claws extended as a warning with the young Alpha caught.

Madison had promised retribution for Derek to Deucalion and without his pack Madison would be more than happy to take him.

Scott collapsed on the other side of the seat and put his hand over Boyd's to conceal his nails.

"What are you doing idiot," she hissed at the golden eyed Beta. He winced under her tone and looked to Scott to avoid her bone chilling glare. Boyd growled at Scott, unable to keep the beast inside of him tame as he fought his anger internally –a futile attempt.

"Let go," he demanded.

Madison wrapped her hand around his throat, plunging her talon like claws into the side. He jumped at the painful sensation and struggled but her grip was unrelenting.

"Madison, let me do this, please," Scott pleaded. "I can handle this." She sighed and hesitantly pulled out her bloodied claws from his neck, wiping them on her black pants. "You got a plan?" Scott asked Boyd sternly. "Tell me your brilliant plan and I'll let go. What are you going to do, kill him –_right here_? And then what," Scott continued to press. "What are you going to do after that?"

"I don't care," Boyd growled. He jolted forward, trying to pass Scott but Madison was quick with her reflexed and tugged his shirt back and held him up against the seat by keeping her clawed hands into his shoulders, not only provoking blood but also keeping his back attached to seat with her steel grip. Isaac helped, as did Scott who squeezed his wrists painfully.

"I do," Scott protested calmly.

"Whoa, whoa, you're still hurt?" Isaac asked, noticing the blood on Scott's shirt. Madison inhaled sharply. Boyd stilled, descending his dark eyes to the same red stained patch of shirt after Isaac pointed it out.

"I'm fine," he denied in a whisper, still weak and exhausted. "Give me a chance to figure something out, something that doesn't have to end with someone else dying." He pleaded.

"Okay," Boyd agreed but his eyes still wandered with uncertainty.

"Crisis averted?" Stiles asked as Madison guided Scott back to his seat gently. Scott nodded. "Kay, good, because we have another problem," Stiles said, focusing on Ethan and Danny. Madison spun and looked at the same direction. "Ethan keeps checking his phone like every five minutes, like he's waiting for something, you know, like a message or signal of some kind, I don't know, something evil though. I can tell. I have a very perceptive eye for evil, you know that." he explained adamantly. Tabitha sniggered while Madison narrowed her eyes at the seemingly innocent duo.

"I don't like him sitting with Danny," Scott stated with intense dark eyes glaring right at the pair –specifically Ethan.

"Neither do I'," Stiles agreed. "I'm going to see what he's waiting for," he announced, gathering his phone from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked.

"I'm going to ask," Stiles said, composing a text.

"Don't bother," Madison cut him short. "I'm going to talk to him –it's been long overdue."

Madison returned to the mid aisle where she kneeled down next to Ethan, smirking as he took in her menacing expression and swishing blonde locks. "Come with me," she order. He was about to object when she wagged her finger. "Don't start a scene," she warned, letting her fingers crawl up the seat behind him before latching her long claws into his neck. "Danny, we'll be back a second," she promised, using her other hand to hold a finger. Ethan squirmed in her painful grip as she pluck the boy out of his seat and ahead 2 more before sitting down in an empty one, cornering him against the window. "Now, Ethan, I'm very, _very _reasonable," she coaxed, smirking. Ethan growled back, not in the slightest at ease. She shrugged and patted his knee. He winced, wondering if her bloodied claws would sink into his thigh but she removed her hand and kept it in her lap neatly.

"I'm not telling you anything," Ethan growled. Madison shook her head.

"Bad, _bad_ answer," she murmured before sinking her claws into his side, grabbing at a key muscle and squeezing. He cried out sharply, trying to pull it off as he struggled but she was unrelenting. "See, this is the wound my friend Scott has and it's not healing," she shook her head. "I'm not happy about it, _at all," _she snarled lowly. "I thought an eye-for-an-eye would do well" she taunted maliciously, squeezing harder. Ethan doubled over at an odd angle to ease the pain but it was still very much uncomfortable for him. "I can make it stop, just tell me who your waiting for on the phone. I'm very curious," she toyed.

"No one," he snarled.

"Lie," she accused casually, shrugging as she dug her claws deeper. He inhaled sharply at the pain. "Did I ever tell you I'm a huge fan of torture? Oh, _it's my favorite," _she grinned devilishly. "Tell me the truth and I'll let you heal," she coaxed again, "or lie again and I put you through hell. See that right there?" She wiggled her finger inside his torso, plunging through muscle and tearing it. He cried out, whimpering at the pain, "that's your rib," she explained, tracing the outline of the bone, "and I'm hooking it," she narrated, looping her finger around the bone, "and the next lie you tell I'm tugging it so it'll break at a very painful angle," she tormented. "It won't be pleasant at all for you –but very much entertaining to me." She grinned.

Ethan weighed his chances heavily and sighed in defeat. "I'm waiting for Kali. Ennis might be alive but he's not looking good," Ethan groaned. Madison unhooked her finger from his rib and pulled out her hand. It was glazed with the thick, gooey substance of red, staining her flesh and dripping down to her wrist.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, smiling wide, but behind her sugary voice was the twinge of sarcasm she was notorious for. "You're so much help!" She patted his side, prompting another excruciating wave of pain up his side. She panted to deal with the overwhelming surges of agony. "So glad we could come with this great compromise. I'll return you to your boyfriend now," she smirked. "Actually, you can do the walking yourself," she sniggered. "Good _luck," _she sneered.

She returned to her seat victoriously. Stiles immediately jumped to questions. "What did he say?" He demanded.

"Does anyone have a towel?" Madison asked first, lifting her bloodied hand. Tabitha caught the slick substance coating Madison's pale flesh and gagged, covering her mouth to keep her stomach contents in check and squeezing her eyes shut, doubling over.

"Oh my God_, seriously_," Tabitha groaned, "that is so gross! Why? What on earth would make you think I'd be okay with that?" She laid her head between her knees and took deep breaths.

Stiles turned his head in disgust, gagging, while Scott looked horrified at the bloodied hand. "What did you do?" Stiles asked, raising octaves each voice.

Madison shook her head at Tabitha. "Seriously, you lived on a ranch –where you slaughter cows for beef –and you're weakened by the sight of blood?" She complained. "You are a contradiction of all sorts."

Tabitha shook her head between her knees. "We bred and raised them and sent them to slaughter houses –we didn't kill them ourselves," she clarified. "Someone get this girl a towel _please," _she whined.

Madison shrugged. "Well, I gave the mutt a piece of his own medicine. Played around with his rib a little bit, threatened to break it if he didn't give me truthful answers, and I guess I scarred him a little bit –physically and mentally –but I got the answer at least. Ennis is still alive but in critical condition He's just waiting to hear the news of whether he'll make it or not," she answer as she accepted a small hand napkin from Tabitha and wiped the overflow of blood off her hands but the red tint on her flesh of the smeared substance remained. "Yeah, I'm going to need another one," she acknowledged.

_Teen Wolf_

"Jared I'm warning you, I'm an empathetic vomiter. You throw up, I'm going to throw up right back on you and it will be profoundly disgusting," Coach Finstock chastised from the front of bus. Madison and Tabitha watched, amused, as the poor kid begged him to not mention "throwing up."

"I might throw up on you just to make a point, Jared. Now the rest of you, don't think we're going to miss this meet because of a slight traffic jam or-b-uh minor tornado warning," Coach Finstock stuttered, "_Jared," _he shot a look at the trembling boy._ "_We're going to make this thing –_nothing is going to stop us!" _

_"Stilinski put your hand down," _Coach insisted feverishly.

"You know there's like a food exit about half a mile up. I don't know if we stop and maybe-" Stiles tried to persuade but Coach cut him on harshly.

"We're not going to stop," Coach dismissed.

"Okay, but _if _we stop-"

"STILINSKI," Coach yelled, followed by the shrill ring of the whistle. Madison winced. "SHUT IT! SERIOUSLY IT'S A LITTLE BUS. STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS!" Tabitha was revolted by the loud shouting and was veered back into her seat.

"I hate him," Stiles seethed quietly. "Did you call Deaton?" He asked suddenly, concerned with Scott's condition. Madison noticed he was weaker than usual, leaning against the glass for support.

"I keep getting his voicemail," Scott groaned, more tired than usual.

Stiles sighed. "That's it, I'm calling Lydia and Allison," he stated, reaching for his phone.

"How are they going to help back in in Beacon Hills?" Scott asked doubtfully.

"They're not. They've been following us for hours," Stiles corrected. Tabitha looked behind her to the back window, trying to catch them. "Pathetic," Stiles muttered as he dialed the familiar number.

"They're the Toyota three cars back," Madison pointed out. Tabitha nodded, seeing it.

"Why a Toyota," Tabitha criticized. "Fords are the best way to go."

"Actually, that's a bit debatable. BMW is a pretty dependable, too," Madison chided, "but I totally agree with you on the Toyotas. They suck," she shook her head.

Tabitha scoffed. "A BMW is a luxury car. Of course you're going to be satisfied with a forty thousand dollar vehicle," Tabitha pointed.

"Try thirty one thousand –I bought it pre-owned –since it's my first car and everything, they didn't trust me with a new one." Madison sighed. "But it's still my baby."

"Are you considering Trevor's proposal to trade it in for a newer model?" Tabitha asked, recalling a distant conversation rounded on Madison's inclining mileage. "You know, all good cars must come to an end –Mom traded in her Expedition for an Explorer and the traded that one in for a Fusion –now that her babies are grown up and don't need to use Mom's car anymore. What I'm getting at –sorry for sidetracking –is that it's okay to switch. All cars have a lifetime. Look on the bright side! You can get a Mercedes or another BMW!" Tabitha coaxed. Madison grinned at her enthusiasm.

"_No Mercedes," _Madison emphasized coolly. "My Dad –Frank –had one and _it sucked. _And would you say that about your Ford about being just as willing to switch?" Madison challenged. Tabitha chuckled.

"I love my Escape –I really do –but I won't lie when I say now that I've adapted to the suburban life –I really wouldn't mind a smaller vehicle. I'm eyeing those new Fusions like the one my mom has –it's not as expensive but still has the sleek exterior. I'd get it in a nice cool blue color and black interior –but I have a long way to go before I can pay for one, so I'm sticking to my faithful Escape for now." Tabitha fantasized. Madison laughed.

"Hey Stiles," Lydia greeted over the speaker, "yeah, we're just about to walk into a movie-uh, you know, the popcorn-"

"I know you guys are right behind us," Stiles cut them short. "Put me on speaker," he demanded.

"Yeah-kay," Lydia mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Okay, look, Scott's still hurt," Stiles went straight to the point.

"What do you mean '_still'_? He's not healing?" Allison's concerned voice replied immediately.

"No, he's not healing! I think he's actually getting worse! The blood is turning like a black color!" Stiles described anxiously, very much upset at the situation at hand.

"Well-what's wrong with him?" Lydia joined in.

"What's wrong with him?" Stiles sarcastically shot back. "I-what," Stiles stuttered at first, bewildered at the question –confused why he was expected to know an answer to such a question. "Do I have a PhD in Lycanthropy? How am I supposed to know that?"

"We need to get him off the bus," Allison instructed.

"And take him where, a hospital?" Lydia retorted, applying logical to what Allison lacked.

"If he's dying, yeah," Allison argued. "Stiles there's a rest are area a mile up! Tell the Coach to pull over," Allison ordered. Madison raised a brow, impressed with Allison's leadership –but then again, she knew women tended to have more leader like qualities than men –as granted by the addition mental capacity females were given due to their maternal responsibilities to protect and nurture young. It was all genetically gifted to all of them.

"Yeah, I've been trying," Stiles exasperated. He rubbed his head as if the mend the migraine growing in his temple.

"But reason with him!" Allison argued.

"_Reason_" Stiles exclaimed incredulously. "_Have you met this guy?" _

_"Just try something," _Allison demanded fiercely. Stiles sighed and hung up the phone and let it rest on his palm.

"Shit," Tabitha exclaimed suddenly. Madison turned her head from the peeved human boy to her best friend who had all but flown her hands backwards as if burned. Madison eyed the open pocket of Tabitha's dark purple gym bag –the one with the St. Catherine's Tennis team logo on the front –and back to Tabitha.

"What?" Madison asked innocently. "What is it?"

Tabitha shook her head in nervousness. "Is it a gun?" Tabitha shook her.

"Why would she have a gun?" Stiles demanded. Tabitha shook her head furiously but silently as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"You'd be surprised how many guns she carries around the house –habit she got from her father," Madison explained, "but it's obviously not a gun. Is it a grenade?" She suggested loosely, not quite sure what, before asking again. Tabitha shook her head. "Is it something worse?" Tabitha nodded. "What is it?" Madison asked frantically.

"Stink bomb," Tabitha whispered, "courtesy of Thomas Dick Reed. No one touch the bag! No one and I _mean no one_," she yelled, slapping Stiles' hand away from the bag when he reached forward to see it himself. "This is a very, _very _sensitive weapon! I mean it –it's lethal! We need to call the fucking Bomb squad," she panicked.

"No," Madison exclaimed with the same fearful eyes as Tabitha. Stiles and Scott exchanged looks. "Not the-_no_-_really_-the _same_ kind he used in the cafeteria his junior year?" Tabitha nodded her head feverishly.

"Fuck," both of them cursed loudly simultaneously.

"Okay, he must've put it in there when I was packing for the last time as revenge for me punching him in the face, meaning this thing has be dormant for a few months –and knowing him –as dimwitted as he can be –he has his moments where he can create a nuclear equivalent of a stink bomb and the ingredients he's used in the past and what's available to use around the ranch, woods, and kitchen, would most likely suggest that this thing is _more_ potent than it was in its infancy."

"Okay," Madison sighed nervously. "So you're saying if this thing goes off, I'm losing my sense of smell it's that strong."

"Take the cafeteria incident and imagine a smaller target area where the smell can't spread but in fact stay's exactly in the detonation spot – so the stench is strong. Times that by 5 –the months this thing has been lying around, maybe even depending if Tom prepared this months earlier for God knows what. Put those factors together and I'm very much certain this thing will obliterate all of our sense of smell," she agreed.

"Give it to me," Stiles demanded. Tabitha stared wide eyed at the fool of a man –boy –err-guy, Tabitha couldn't decide. "We need it," he exclaimed. "If we can make it unbearable in here, Coach will stop the bus and get Scott the help he needs!" Stiles reasoned. Tabitha shared a weary look with Madison, asking for an answer with her eyes. Madison inhaled sharply and took a second to think.

"First the smell will stick for _days –I don't want to be miserable for days," _she argued passionately. "Second, Madison, Scott, Isaac, Boyd, the twin –well not really –I don't like him –but all of them of enhanced smell. If we drop the bomb –literally –all of those people will undoubtedly faint at the horrendous stench this _grenade _will release. So…" Tabitha was assured by a definite look on Madison's expression. "I guess if she approves and she's willing to risk it, you can use it –but a few things," she pointed out seriously, "one, prepare a sweatshirt or some kind of cover, and hide it in your lap so he," she motioned with a sly thumb gesture to an oblivious Coach Finstock, "won't see, because this _thing _is expel worthy –it got my brother suspended but if it wasn't for my father's influence, he'd be booted out. Two, throw and _run, _whoever is brave enough to toss."

"I got a better plan," Madison insisted. "Tabitha is right –prepare some kind of cloth cover. Unfortunately I was not prepared when they unleashed that hellish creation in the middle of lunch and let me tell you, I couldn't smell for a _week. _It was _tha_t bad_._ Now, that little thing," she pointed, refusing to touch it, "ought to be…" she looked around for a cover, "okay –first, who's going to throw it? Not Scott obviously, I –maybe –but it'd be risky with my sense of smell –it'd hit me first and be more potent –like Tabitha said –I'd faint –no lie." She was taken aback when Stiles suddenly raised his hand to volunteer. "Oh, thanks Stiles, that's very brave of you. Now that we established our trigger man," Madison continued in a hush, "we have to hide under another person, okay?"

"I'm thinking just throw it," Tabitha said, "usually I'm not that tactless but this thing is a wild card and there is no way to control it. "Stomp it and throw it –or no –even better, roll it. It will land under a foot or something and probably that poor kid will be blamed but given our circumstance we can't bother to empathize for minor collateral damage. Alright, everybody ready?"

"Let me distract him," Stiles insisted.

"Oh please, you just want to get closer to the door," Madison accused, seeing through his ploy Tabitha was blind to as she was just about to admire his willingness to participate. Stiles shrugged shamelessly. "I am going up front," Madison told.

"Alright soldiers," Tabitha proclaimed, "I'm proud of all you. We're going in strong. May God be with you," she prayed quickly. Madison rolled her eyes.

"This is a ploy," Madison dismissed, "not a battle."

"It's an extensive and very risky operation," Tabitha argued heatedly. "There is much to lose as there is much to be gained. On the count of three…"

"Just go Stiles, do your thing," Madison excused waving him off. Tabitha glared at the blonde but Madison just shrugged. "Time is of the essence," she justified lightly. Tabitha rolled her eyes as Stiles climbed out of his seat. Tabitha handled the delicate plastic toy ball and Madison saw how precariously it was wrapped with a deceptive red paper outline.

"What's inside it?" Madison had to ask.

She shot the blonde a dirty look. "We don't trust the Russians with American secrets," Tabitha retorted with a grin. Madison chuckled at the Red Scare joke.

"Ooh," Madison played along, "you're scared I'm going to steal your Manhattan intelligence and use it against you?"

"Yes," Tabitha teased. "This is top secret Reed Family ingredients." Tabitha narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure if Tom was being an idiot and forgot to uncap it," she thought, weighing it in her hand, "or thought it would break later but I doubt it though because it's tightly capped," she observed, twisting it slowly behind the cover of the seat, "or maybe…no…would he? Why would he give me a stink bomb as a peace offering?" She slowly detached the cap of the toy plastic ball. "The ball explains how he got it into the school unnoticed," Tabitha commented. She pulled out a small fortunate cookie sized note. She read the small inscription with a confused look. "Sorry for the scare," she read out loud. "Love, Trent." She smiled. "Aw, he's such a good little brother. She turned the note over. "This is the best I could do –Tom will be pissed. " Tabitha 'awed' at the sentimentality of the gesture. "Best way to make up to a sister is to piss off her least favorite brother. Remind me to send him a thank you text later."

She handed the stink bomb to Madison. "Alright, so break the coating, and roll it," Tabitha instructed.

"I got a better idea," Madison suggested as she watched Stiles' hand flare as his voice raised. She grabbed the stink bomb and recapped it lightly and stuffed it in the snack bag. "I'm going to throw away wrappers," she smirked. Tabitha got her gesture and let her slide through with the small bag in hand. She manipulated the ball into a half-ripped fruit snack wrapper, effectively concealing it within a disguise and slid past Stiles as he tirelessly argued with Coach Finstock. "Sorry, excuse me," she apologized meekly, cringing when the Coach blew his whistle.

"Being cooped up for hours is not good," Stiles exclaimed but was cut off again by Finstock's obnoxious whistle. "You know our bladders aren't exactly," he tried again only to be rudely cut off. "Coach – (whistle) –This is – (whistle) –Can you – (whistle, whistle) – please – (whistle, whistle, whistle) – _Let me talk_!" Stiles shouted over the racket.

She tossed some wrapped into the trash can up front and took cover in the seat ahead of Jared's as she rolled the ball in her hand, undoing the cap secretly with her fingers and unwrapping the thing paper lining. She felt the dry, crispy texture of leaves and something else but she couldn't say. She let the bag drop 'accidently' and picked it up at an angle where the dry yellow-greenish roll of plant extracts began to roll. She hid it under her shoe and hooked eye contact with Stiles. She gave a slight nod of readiness and he nodded back of approval, disguising it with a hand gesture of irritation (pinching the bridge of his nose before dropping his hand in defeat) meant to distract the coach.

"Every time," Stiles addressed pointedly but was cut off again his obnoxious whistle, only this time the Coach laughed in pure entertainment of Stiles' frustration.

Madison crushed it under her shoe and kicked it under Jared, whose eyes were focused outside, making him the best obvious target. Madison stood up abruptly, rolled bag in hand and passed the arguing duo again and tugged on Stiles sleeve.

"_Get back to your seat Stilinski!_" Coach screamed after a long, ear piercing screech of the whistle that prompted even Madison to wince.

"_OKAY_!" Stiles screamed back.

"Hey now," Madison intervened, "just let it go," she coaxed sweetly. Stiles followed her back in haste, hoping to beat the 'infamous stench' as Tabitha depicted earlier.

"And Jared, keep your –oh my God," The coach exclaimed. Both Stiles and Madison shared a knowing smirk before hiding it so no one else would catch it. "Oh my God, _oh my God_," the coach exclaimed. Tabitha had to squeeze her lips shut to not burst laughing at his face. The coach pinched his nose. "Jared, don't! Jared, keep it in! Keep it in, damn it, don't!_ Oh my God!_ Who on earth released that odor? _OH MY GOD!_ _Jared, why? Why would you rip one? Why?_" The front of the bus began to groan in agony as the unbearable stench enveloped in the air. "_Everyone, window's down now_!" Coach demanded furiously, whipping his hand in front of his face feverishly. He coughed. "_Oh mother of God_," he gagged. He brought his shirt up to his nose and covered the bottom half of his face with his large palm.

Tabitha, Scott, Madison, and Stiles all brought their sweatshirts and shirts to their noses in make shift masks as they anticipated the smell. Madison and Stiles nodded at each other in silent congrats.

The top half of the bus screamed as the sound of vomit splattering on the floor notified the quadrant of an unexpected but satisfying result to aid their intended goal. "Gross!" A girl squealed. "Ethan, are you okay?" Danny's voice also screamed as the Alpha doubled over in ultimate agony as his sense of smell amplified the odor –making it almost unbearable to breath. He coughed a fit, also an appreciated consequence.

_"JARED!"_ The coach screamed. Tabitha and Madison coyly slapped hands in victory. Madison and Scott exchanged looks of gratitude as his tired eyes and subtle smile hinted at a weak but genuine effort to thank her.


	18. Loss and Allegiance P4-5 (3x05 Frayed)

_**I'm so sorry about the wait guys! I literally dedicated all my free time trying to finish these last chapters. I ended on 170 and now I'm on page 192, completing five parts worth of a single chapter ("Frayed") from 141-192. That's a good 51 pages that I dedicated all for you people. It was an war effort but I think the few people who enjoy this story so much deserve an update as a priority, which is why I'm writing this note which I promised I will rarely do because it takes away from the chapter. Forgive me if it might seemed spotty or rushed. I'll fix it as soon as I'm done with this series and finally catch up on episodes because I still have "Motel California" and "Currents" both of which will be HUGE plot projects for me since they will reveal so much about what I'm planning with my little characters here. Muahahaha. Much Love, Cassidy. **_

**PART 4 **

With their intended goal being a success, they found the bus at the rest stop in a matter of minutes at the death trap of a vehicle had all of them choking while the few blessed with window had their head sticking out desperate for air.

Allison had met Scott and Stiles outside while Tabitha and Madison discussed quietly behind a tree far from the hoard of groaning students. Madison saw Scott being carried towards the rest room.

"Okay, he's in good hands here. I think now is a good time to call dad," Madison announced, taking out her phone and dialing a familiar number. The process was cut short as the iPhone was flown out of her hands when she was thrust forward, hitting the ground. He cheek skimmed the dirt, staining her cheeks with mud and grass. Tabitha jolted in surprise and stared at the large man who had surprised them.

Ethan snarled at the sprawled blond.

"_Oh hell no_," Tabitha exclaimed boldly, glaring at him. She charged forward and pushed him aside, but her lack of strength only prompted him to lean back and recoil back to his proud posture. "No one pushes my best friend and gets away with it," she dared. She prepared her foot, angling it while Ethan glared at her face –unaware of the weapon she was arranging –amused by the human.

"What are you going to do about it?" He teased.

She didn't say anything. Instead she used her foot and thrust it forward, gaining momentum and kicking him in the groin. He doubled over at the pain and she used it as an advantage to kick him again in the face. Blood splattered on the ground from his busted nose.

"Tabi, _stop, _you have to keep control," Madison demanded, pushing herself up. She pulled Tabitha back and hugged her from behind. "It is fine, he didn't hurt, okay?" Madison soothed softly. "Thank you," she whispered over her shoulder. "Come on, let's go," she guided her away, "I have a call to make," she distracted. She wiped her dirty screen with her sleeve before redialing a familiar number.

"You're just going to walk away?" Ethan taunted. Madison stopped and glanced over her shoulder to glare at him. His obnoxious smirk tempted her to teach him a lesson. She inhaled sharply and exhaled heavily before heading back in her original direction, leading Tabitha by the shoulders towards an isolated area.

"Why are you so protective of her," Ethan followed quickly, unrelenting. Madison froze dangerously, locking her jaw and turning around malicious to face the new threat while Tabitha stepped to the side to avoid any shrapnel that may come from the blonde's notorious fury.

"You dare touch a hair on her head and _you are dead_," Madison seethed. She wouldn't even risk waving Tabitha off as just 'a friend' in case it backfired and the Alphas took action anyways. She had to insert her importance and the dire consequences that would follow any atrocious act inflicted upon her best friend, Beta, and ultimately her only sister. "It'll be your last mistake before I rip your entrails out of your body and feed them to vultures. I'll make this very clear and you better spread the message to the others, so they don't make the same mistake. Tabitha is to remain untouched and unbothered. Any attempt on her life or safety will be evened with a death –starting with you, then your twin, Ennis –if he survives –then Kali, and lastly, Deucalion."

At this point, Madison was so enraged she was blind to the fact her instinctively need to kill to defend was being activated. She subconsciously pulled Ethan closer towards with a clawed hand wrapped around his shirt collar and impaling his head on one of the fingers. Blood dripped down this throat and he struggled to make words when his jaw was throbbing from the agonizing pain founded in his chin. She ripped her claw out and let him fall to the ground to gather his senses and sanity.

To certify her threat, she kicked his wounded side and he toppled over his anguish. She returned to Tabitha's side protectively and watched at the wounded Alpha hobbled away, clutching his side excruciatingly as it throbbed in tremendous, incapacitating ways while it began to flow an overwhelming amount of red substance onto his stained shirt.

"_Madison_," her father demanded over the phone, "_what's wrong?_"

"Nothing, nothing… I handled it," she stuttered at first as she applied to phone to her ear. "I just wanted to check in on you. How are you?"

"I just got off work," he said. Sloane clutched the Blackberry device in his hands as he entered the Animal Hospital, pushing the door open. "I'm going to check to see if your dog was found at the Vet's place." He coded as he eyed two other Alphas in the room and the nearby human who eyed them wearily and then to Sloane, surprised by the man. The female-male pair clutched hands in anxiety laced with genuine concern for whoever was behind the latch door –telling him it wasn't Derek as they're ultimate goal was to kill him. They eyed him wearily and his feigned a small, sympathetic smile.

"What do you mean? Wait," Madison figured out, "are you in _Deaton's_ office?"

"Yes," Sloane replied. He purposely looked at the peg board and let his cool, calm eyes drift over the pictures of Missing and Found animals, none of them of course were Derek, but it was all for a show to disengage the curious Alphas behind him. "I don't see him here," he sadly admitted.

"Oh," Madison's defeated sigh, "well can you ask Dr. Deaton himself?"

"I believe he's busy," Sloane told, eyeing the gate separating the counter from the lobby, "maybe another time when other people aren't around," he dismissed.

Madison grew quiet, suspicious of his utterance of 'other people' when regular humans would care less. "What do you mean other people?" Madison asked suddenly, already suspecting the worst as she connected the dots. Sloane had already hurried out of the lobby, knowledge of the situation in tow as he realized who was behind the gate.

"Like two, young Alphas such as yourself," Sloane explained as he walked to his bright red Charger. He leaned against the small frame of the sports car and narrowed his eyes at the door of the local establishment. "I'm going to stay in the shadows for now but I'm going to continue tracking Derek's scent. I'm close –I know it. Take care of yourself Maddy, and don't get into trouble. I love you," he bid.

"I love you, too," Madison replied before hanging the phone up. "Well, good news," Madison shrugged, "Derek might be alive. Bad news, there's a good chance Ennis is, too." She growled. She ruffled her hair in frustration. "Damn them all to hell," she grumbled. Tabitha pulled her around and pointed to Isaac's furious figure running towards them. "Oh boy," she groaned.

"Madison, Scott's hurt," Isaac yelled. "He's really hurt. Stiles told me and-and I don't know what to do," he stuttered.

"Do what I do," Madison coldly responded, surprising him. Madison was supposed to be supporting Scott –but did that mean she had to care for him? Isaac would think so but her blank expression and neutral voice suggested otherwise. She raised her red tainted hand in the hair and waved it in front of his face. "He hurt Scott. You hurt him. An eye for an eye," she explained.

"But-but, you said I shouldn't be going up against them when I'm outnumbered," Isaac protested.

Madison shook her head. "The twins are one thing, but just one? You can handle him," she motivated. She patted his shoulder. "I softened him up a little but just for you," she smirked. She steered Isaac around, arm around his shoulders, and started to walk towards the direction she saw Ethan leave. Tabitha trailed behind them, grinning slowly as she realized what Madison was trying to do.

She was molding Isaac –prepping him –not like a mother would a son although it could be confused as such –but to prepare him for what was to come –whether he was in her pack or she lead theirs. Tabitha nodded slowly, knowingly, as she hid the realization behind a deceiving _seemingly_ innocent smile.

_Teen Wolf_

After hours' worth of extensive stitching, Dr. Deaton let out a sigh of relief at the positive sign Ennis might just survive. He had worked desperately to save the others by saving Ennis. His heart still raced though. Dealing with the Alphas is dangerous business and he knew deep down this 'peace' his sister had promised with Ennis' successful surgery would last for long. He felt a shiver of dread crawl down his spine and he knew it wasn't out of apprehension but of instinct and he slowly turned around, expecting the guest outside his domain.

"How's our patient?" Deucalion ominously asked from the archway.

"Out cold," Deaton replied calmly. Ennis lay still on the cold slab, stitched and bloodied but stable.

"And the prognosis," Deucalion inquired.

"Surprisingly optimistic," Deaton replied with the same even voice. "He's going to make it." He casted Deucalion a weary glare as if to decipher Deucalion's glassed expression behind his ghostly grey filmed eyes.

Deucalion hummed in content and nodded briefly at the conclusion. He doubted Deaton's words. Deaton didn't lie, no, far from it. The Veterinarian was an honest, blunt man, but the night earlier had verified an opposite fate for the larger Alpha. Deaton tilted his head in confusion. Deucalion laid his hand over Ennis's deathly still frame.

"Dr. Deaton," Deucalion began. Deaton stiffened nervously. "Have you heard of a Hell Hound?"

Deaton was taken aback but nodded. "Yes, I have," he replied coldly. He gulped. "What does a Hell Hound have to do with this?"

Deucalion smirked. "Have you seen one?"

"No," Deaton replied a little too quickly. Deucalion shook head as his hand hovered over Ennis's body, trailing upwards over his chest. He felt the mark of death –the feeling of dread consuming him, casting a dark, cold blanket of fear over his body. What was Ennis thinking? What visions were terrorizing him? Deucalion could only assume death's hands were as close as Deucalion's, ready to take another soul down to Inferno's murky depths.

"Of course you haven't, not one in their real form. You see, we've been granted the rare opportunity to be in one's presence at one point of our lives. I've heard of what they could look like and how terrifying seeing one is –as they mark your demise with their appearance alone. You and I –we're uneasy about Madison's presence –as she present the risk of bestowing upon us the warrant of death," Deucalion began. "The truth is it's not her form that we ought to be scared of but her eyes. A Hell Hound's eyes are said to be a portal to the other side, an insight to the darkness that awaits us in the next life. Ennis was granted that rare opportunity to see such a sight last night," Deucalion confided. His hands trembled over Ennis's neck, scared of his intimacy of one of the soon-to-be dead.

Deaton inhaled sharply as his dark eyes widened. "He never had a chance to tell me what they looked like but Kali saw the true terror in his eyes and only one sight could make a man of his great size to succumb to a weakness as great as the fear of death. I can only imagine what he saw in her eyes… what horrifying vision she projected to him." He shook his head. "I'll never know."

He leaned down closely to Ennis's face. He kissed an obligated peck to his respected comrade's cheek. "You're time here as expired." He pecked his other cheek. He took control of the situation and clutched his clawed hand around Ennis's head and dedicated all his strength into crushing his skull. Ennis's body shook instinctively as a reaction to the intense pressure. Deucalion felt his fingers cry out at the tension as Ennis's bones shattered in his grip. The bone caved in, effectively killing the Alpha for good as his body stop thrashing.

"I think you may have overestimated his odds," Deucalion snipped callously bright without an ounce of grievance. He didn't bother wiping his bodied hands and turned around towards the archway, facing his back to the perplexed Deaton. Deucalion abandoned Ennis's corpse coldly on the slab as he exited the room in a slow, deliberate manner.

_Teen Wolf_

Sloane navigated around the parking lot, as Derek's scent intensified. He was getting close –very close. He sent Madison an assuring text and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He played with his keys, pretending to search for his car as a possible witness cross his path. She was a pretty little school teacher –skirt, solid colored heels, and a modest top, reminding him of his school teacher when he was a child, aside from her dark curly hair. She stopped slowly and took him in as he walked opposite of her.

She was taken by his grand height and masculine, broad shoulders and designer coat. He had a confident stride and mysterious aura.

"Excuse me," she called out, "can I help you?"

Sloane stopped and spun, smiling modestly at the young woman. "No thank you," he replied. Jennifer Blake titled her head in confusion as Sloane continued on his way and taking an abrupt turn to the right, following the scent.

He saw Derek's stumbling form travel painfully slow to a small Toyota. His hand clutched to bloodied and bruised body. He approached slowly. By the time he saw Derek in full view and close up he noticed Derek had slammed on the driver side window in a desperate plea, welcomed by a female's shrill scream. Derek's weak body fell to the ground, smearing blood against the glass.

Jennifer made haste to Derek as he sprawled out on the pavement, tending to his bloodied and torn shirt, unaware of the presence behind her. She finally noticed an abnormally long shadow casted from what seemed to be her crouch figure but she knew better than to believe it came from hers. She slowly turned over her shoulder and saw the same black dress pants and hem of a cotton coat she noticed earlier.

Jennifer Blake screamed bloody murder as she saw Sloane's imposing shadow loom over both she and Derek's corpse. She was instantly quieted by his smoldering glare and grew meek but her body hovered over Derek's protectively.

"Now, who might you be?" Sloane asked her, stepping forward. Derek made a subconscious attempt to pull Jennifer closer from Sloane.

"Who are you and why'd you hurt him?" Jennifer demanded.

"Brave," Sloane commented, "but that'll get you nowhere with me." Sloane persisted as he kneeled down. "I didn't hurt him. I tracked him. You have no idea what you just walked into, do you?" he asked her.

"Who are you," she spat out again. Sloane sighed.

"No one who's known my name has lived to see another day so I highly suggest you take advantage of your opportunity to stay blissfully ignorance and _shut up," _Sloane hissed. Jennifer silenced instantly. "I got it from here," Sloane insisted, gathering Derek in own arm.

"I'm coming with you," Jennifer asserted.

Sloane rolled his eyes. "I'd rather you not, but… whatever, do as you please," he allowed with an eye roll. She joined the opposite side of Derek and pulled his arm over her frailer shoulders compared to Sloane's durable ones.

_Teen Wolf_

Madison watched intensely as Isaac confronted the young Alpha, backing him up in case things went awry. Ethan noticed her and growled, catching Madison's maternal figure loom behind the young Beta. She pointed to his bloody side and winked, very much alerting him she knew his weak spot and most likely told the provoked young man who was about to bludgeon him with his furious fist it seemed like, the very hand clenched tightly, shaking at his side.

"Remember, Isaac, Scott may not make it through this one," Madison provoked. Ethan's dark eyes widened as he finally understood the scale of what her intentions were. He was taken upon surprise when Isaac pounded him with a surprise punch of stunning force. Madison grinned victoriously when Ethan plummeted to the ground.

Ethan caught a glimpse of her cold blue eyes before they shifted a familiar, murderous red he remembered from the night before. She, too, was reminiscing on the night with a heated passion. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared onward despite the alarming growing amount of witnesses forming around her.

_"You ready to go?" Madison asked loudly as she turned to the doorway, entering the room. Scott spun around, ready to glare at Madison for risky exposure but knew it was too late when he caught the taller form behind her. He gasped, almost dropping the helmet in his hand. _

_"Oh whoa," Isaac blurted, taking in his friend's frantic expression. Madison's composed face hid her own struggle to whip up a decent excuse to cover for their agenda. She made eye contact with Scott and held in an intense stare, keeping Isaac out of their mental loop–alarming him. _

_"Where you two going," Isaac probed both of them. He took in Madison's dark attire, catching her bare legs under her long, expensive coat tied together with a belt. Her hair was curled lightly and rested on her shoulder. Scott looked not as dashing as she in his simple, faded green jacket and jeans. _

_"Uh…" Scott stuttered. He pleaded with his dark eyes to Madison who smiled reassuringly. _

_"I trust you not to tell Derek," she whispered to Isaac teasingly. She smiled brightly, "but Scott and I are going on a date, aren't we?" _

_"Yeah," Scott jumped in, "yeah, she and I…going to, uh…" _

_Her eye narrowed in frustration and her nose crinkled. If it wasn't for the tense moment, Scott would admit to himself her frantic expression in what appeared to be only a mild situation was kind of cute of the dolled-up blond. _

_"Get some Mexican," she threw out there. "You told me about a Mexican place, right?" _

_"Oh cool," Isaac complimented, "I'll come with you. I love Mexican." _

_"There's only so much room on the bike," Madison took the lead. Scott sighed in relief, glad the manipulation master would talk themselves out of a situation. _

_"But you drove here," Isaac pointed out, "and your truck can fit us." Isaac said referring to Tabitha's black SUV parked in the drive way next to Scott's motorcycle._

_"It's uh…" she argued, "Well, I mean, it's a date, so it's meant to be kind of private." She shrugged. "I'm sorry, Cub." _

_"And yet you brought Tabitha with, too," Isaac jaunted back with a knowing smirk. Hers fell. "She's waiting up front. We can double date so she doesn't feel like the third wheel." he offered but his smirk implied he knew something else was up. . _

_"Isaac, we can eat alone. It is fine," Scott defended. "Tabitha just came…" Scott tried to fill in the blank but came up empty. _

_"That's a really nice offer but I was just dropping her off at Stiles' place," Madison explained with a lazy hand gesture. Scott nodded in agreement. "They were going to watch movies and I might as well save her gas by double-tripping." _

_"_You're not going alone_," Isaac saw through their lie, "and neither is Tabitha. We're doing this as a team effort." _

_Madison sighed as he moved out of the room to take the lead. "Fine," she surrendered. "You take Isaac," she demanded Scott. "I'll take Tabitha. We'll meet there and explain we don't want trouble tonight. Follow my lead and Deucalion will accept some sort of compromise. I've did it before and I can do it again," she instructed. Scott nodded. "I won't let anything happen to you guys," she promised, patting his shoulder. He engulfed her in a tight hug. _

_"Thank you," Scott appreciated. She nodded along. _

_Teen Wolf_

_Madison had beaten them –as her car granted her more speed and her brain allowed her to take alternative routes to shave time off her destination. While Madison waited outside her car, Tabitha unloaded the long sniper rifle from under the disguising carpet of her trunk. She pulled it out of a carrier case and a package of bullets from a pouch and loaded some into the chamber in case of a surprise attack when attempting to get inside. _

_Madison whistled. "You're daddy sure knows how to pick a handsome gun," Madison complimented. "Looks pretty big," she observed as Tabitha roped the thing on her shoulder with the thick strap. She held a detachable scope in another hand and began to walk into the building. _

_"It'll do that job," Tabitha said, cutting the conversation short. _

_"So is it military issued?" Madison asked. Tabitha shook her head. _

_"My dad knows people," she, again, said briefly. Madison nodded along, getting the hint. _

_"You go up on the highest level, okay? Take the staircase up there," she pointed to the external entrance three stories above attached to a narrow fire escape. Tabitha wasted no time advancing to the said spot with agility and stealth Madison appreciated in the feisty young woman and then focused on getting herself in position to meet Scott and Isaac. She only walked a few feet inside on the main layout when she spotted his motorcycle and the two bodies awaiting her next to it. _

_"Remember, we're just going to talk to him," Scott persisted when she arrived. Her ankle flat-soled boots clicked against the pave and abruptly stopped as she froze, focusing on the young Betas, "Try to reason with him, that's it," he continued. Madison nodded in agreement. _

_"Leave it to me," Madison assured. _

_"I'm guessing Tabitha is your backup," Scott assumed. "Where is she?" _

_"The less you know, the less the enemy knows," Madison chided. "Trust me, we're covered. Tabitha has the eye of a hawk," she grinned. "We're in good hands." _

_Madison let the two boys pass her first to cast a wary eye towards the area Tabitha was well hidden in. As her transition deepened, Madison was quickly losing their mental connection and it concerned her. Madison then steered her concerned eyes to the advancing pair of boys and decided then and there they needed her protection more than her abilities to talk someone to death. _

_In humanoid form she was imposing but the (officially) 5'8 black clad blonde was not enough to deter a pack of Alphas. A ravenous wolf, though, she realized from experience, had a better influence to scare those around her. A werewolf was one thing but a Hellhound was another. She knew her nightmarish alter ego was a better deterrence than any and immediately shifted on whim after shedding her clothes in a quick, blur of fury. Her paws landed in an earth shaking thud and she raced to the male pair at an impeccable speed. Scott was started at first by her great size, red devilish eyes, and sharp pointed ears but something about her defensive posture guarding them as she walked beside Scott faithfully assured him she was no threat to Isaac and him. He showcased his extreme gratitude by laying a soft hand on her neck and petting her affectionately, not minding the coarseness of her wild black fur. Isaac was also assured by her presence and appreciated equally her valuable aid. _

_Madison greeted the figure ahead of them with a blood curdling growl. Deucalion only smirked at the trio. _

_"My only regret is not being able to see you," Deucalion jaunted to Madison. "You must be quite a sight. I've heard stories of your kind from England and Ireland…but I guess I should be blessed with my lack of sight," Deucalion said, "as folklore suggests seeing you or your kind is a warning of imminent death –by your hand or another, I suppose. I must be very lucky indeed. I would not have made the dire decision to bring Madison along though, Scott, as her presence is considered a bad omen." _

_"We're not here to kill," Scott assured passionately. "We just want to talk." _

_"I'm sure Derek would agree," Deucalion bit back sarcastically with a tense expression. Scott steered around to the direction Madison was snarling at and caught Derek's imposing form stepping from the darkness. Madison barked fervently, almost aggressively to push him back but was unsuccessful as Derek circled around her. Cora and Boyd stared at the devilish black creature standing tall on all four, powerful paws besides Scott, growling and snarling viciously. Cora was petrified of the creature –knowing at least some background on those powerful enough to shift into full wolves –and assumed it was Madison's murderous alias. _

_"You knew I would do this," Scott accused Derek bitterly, upset at the change of plans. Derek glared at Madison in equal disdain for her traitorous act. She snarled and snapped at his approaching figure, startling him. His heart jumped. Deucalion grinned, catching the interaction through his intense hearing. Madison had her own agenda, he suspected, why else she would save Derek only to attempt to attack him the next? He found it interesting. "Derek, don't," Scott pleaded when Derek moved away from Madison's protective circle and towards Deucalion. Madison refused to leave Scott's side. "You can't do this and no one gets hurt," Scott continued. "If someone else dies…" _

_Deucalion smirked at Madison, hinting at the irony of the omen just mentioned. _

_"I want him," Derek cut him off. He pointed to Deucalion. Scott gulped, "just him," Derek repeated fiercely. _

_"Just me," Deucalion played with Derek's words. Madison stepped forward in her usual predatory manner, snarling at both males, as if scowling in her humanoid manner about how idiotic both of them were acting. "Now how does a blind man find his way into a place like this all on his own?" he introduced. _

_Scott looked to the left where Madison growled viciously. The scratching of claw marks alerted them to Kali's slow coming figure sliding down a concrete pillar. Madison crouched low and glared at the female. Kali, too, was a bit alarmed at Madison's fierce black figure, a bit stirred by the nightmarish vision of the black, red eyed wolf. _

_Boyd stepped forward as if to challenge her it seemed until the familiar bouldering figure of Ennis also came into the dim light, growling but not to the same multitude as Madison. The twins stepped over of a ledge, peering down on both of them, grinning with excitement. _

_Scott looked around and then down to Madison. He noticed she stayed firmly beside him, unwavering, and he was a bit surprised but nonetheless grateful for her loyalty. She refused to budge, continuing, to circle around the two boys, and protectively snapping at anyone to dared to step forward. _

"Isaac! Isaac! Knock it off!" Coach screamed but was unable to intervene. Danny tried to pull the furious boy off, too, but Madison had tugged him back, tossing him onto the ground unknowingly with a miscalculation of her tremendous strength. He looked incredulously at the fight and at the cold, indifferent blond whose eyes seemed to be elsewhere.

"ISAAC!" Scott called furiously, stopping Isaac in mid-air. His fist hovered over Ethan's bloody face and the bruised Alpha took the opportunity to glance at Madison but was confused with her blank stare, like she was day dreaming. Her expression seemed to shift lightly and almost uncatchable but the stern line of her lips suggested she was stressed or angry.


	19. Loss and Allegiance P5-5 (3x05 Frayed)

PART 5

_The tension and silence was disarming and Madison stiffened. _

_"Just go," Scott requested quietly to her, "just talk to him, okay? I don't want you fighting. Someone needs to talk to him and you know what you're doing." _

_Madison nodded and trotted back to the direction of the bike where her clothes law askew. She shifted quickly and frantically, unsure if the fighting burst into a bloody mess quite yet, and slid on her black dress and coat. She hurried back at an impeccable speed back to the source where the echoes of growls and snarls swirled. She raced back into the dome of fighting where Kali and Derek fought fiercely, exchanging gashes and slices with lethal claws and Isaac and Scott were up against the abomination of the giant. _

_Madison leapt forward to intervene, blocking one of her kicks and tossing Kali's form onto the floor. Kali slid a great length and looked up at the furious blond. Kali's reflexes brought her back on her feet and she charged at Madison's stealthy form, throwing her feet up in hopes to cutting her face but she was sorely mistaken as Madison ducked. _

_Ennis had decided to help, ignoring Boyd, slipping past the Beta and aiming at Madison with his claws. She was too swift for the bulkier man and duck-and-rolled aside. She popped up opposite of him while Kali was distracted by Derek again. _

_Madison and Ennis established an intense eye connection as they circled each other. Ennis snarled, as did Madison, but something about her eyes unnerved the larger man. He was paralyzed with an extreme sense of dread and fear when he saw Madison's cold blue eyes dilate into something colder, darker, and blacker, and soon the glossy black color consumed her eyes until they were nothing but black pits, acting like a portal to somewhere much darker than Madison's troubled soul. Ennis's heartbeat erupted into frantic patters when he realized exactly what kind of Hell Hound Deucalion was referring to whenever mentioning Madison as Ennis saw for himself the connection. _

_He stepped back and growled more fiercely and aggressively than before, as if he was fighting for himself. Madison veered back, almost stunned by the reaction as she had never seen someone –especially a man the size of Ennis –so stricken with fear they would run for cover of a comrade as Ennis eagerly sought the twin's conjoined, large frame as a shield. _

_Scott and Isaac barreled out of the way when they saw what seemed to them was Ennis coming to aid the conjoined Twins form in an effort to really eliminate them. Instead, they saw nothing of the sort when they established significant distance. They were stunned to see Ennis still looking absolutely mortified at Madison. _

_"Do you see it?" Ennis fervently asked in a panic. The beast composed of the twins shook its head. All they saw was a confused, young blond with wide, bewildered blue eyes staring at Ennis in astonishment, as did the others. Deucalion tilted his head, amused. He always wondered what a Hell Hound looked like, especially the portal they opened in their eyes. _

_Madison and Scott looked at each other, perplexed. Madison shrugged while Scott tried to pinpoint something off about her –but came up with nothing. He nodded up at Deucalion, reminding her of their original purpose. She nodded understandingly. _

_Kali noticed the bold blonde's move and snarled. She moved away from Derek to defend the superior Alpha but Derek used this to his advantage and pulled her back by the collar of her shirt, tossing her onto the ground. _

_"Madison," Deucalion snarled, disturbed by her boldness. "I can feel your burning glare. Are you really going to be bold to attack me?" _

_Madison smirked. "I find it interesting how you title yourself to be this big, bad Alpha no one should mess with and yet," she motioned to the chaos around them, mindless or not whether he could see it or not. His brows furrowed in confusion and slight anxiety at her pause. He listened to her steps and heart beat but neither had moved or changed. "But yet," she continued, "you have your hounds do all the fighting to protect you. You're more as a representation figure who doesn't do shit," she sneered, quote Tabitha's words (when in a debate about the President) not minding the vulgarity of her choice of words. Deucalion sharply narrowed his eyes at her, disturbed by her observations. "Now you can prove me wrong," she challenged, providing a glimpse of her abnormally long canine teeth peeking over her lips as she grinned maliciously, "and come at me." _

_"Why don't come at me first," he seethed. She shook her head as her bright blue eyes glistened with malevolence. _

_"I don't need to," she taunted. Deucalion was leered back by her revelation. _

_"Are you a coward," he taunted, attempting to provoke a violent response. She sniggered. _

_She raised a brow, amused. "On contraire, you should know more than anyone else we're more alike than anything, and we're not cowards in the slightest –well at least I'm not –I can't be quite sure if I can say the same for you. We prefer psychological pursuits rather than physical altercations –but we're very much capable of both." She took a step closer and he flinched. She grinned at the reaction. "You're scared of me –not because of my size which Derek accounts as a weakness but we both know he doesn't know what the hell he's doing –but you know I'm a threat to all of you, your existence –with my presence alone. You know I am equally as manipulative as you and just as ruthless –and that makes us adversaries I suppose. But here's the difference between you and I –the one that already determines this battle is half won –is that I already acted." _

_He instinctively looked down at his arm –very aware of her point. "It could be lethal, it could be not –I could be lying to you or telling the truth –you can't trust my word and you can't predict me and that puts you at a disadvantage." She shrugged. "And you're scared because of our similarities I can get into your head –and unfortunately for you –I can. You're probably doubting this is some act I'm putting on because the bite is harmless but doubt me not, because I made sure you'd get infected, and you may not see it but I certainly can see it here and it does not look good. You've suspected something after it started to ache and throb, and then you started to feel weak headed with constant migraines. Your senses dulled as all the agonizing symptoms overrode everything else." She described. The fear stricken twitch on his frown provided her enough "And let me tell you, it only gets worse," she shrugged. _

_"So you just condemned me to death," Deucalion shook with rage. Madison titled her head deigning innocence. _

_"You act surprised. You didn't really think I'm some innocent child, did you? I won't give you my sob story –I find those a waste of time –but I will say what you already suspect –I'm not above anything. I've seen the worst atrocities in my life and they molded me into the sociopath I am today –may I clarify 'sociopath' versus psychopath, although sometimes the lines blur," she mused while making small useless hand gestures. _

_"You said there was an antidote," Deucalion demanded. _

_"There is," Madison replied honestly but the smirk on her face insinuated something worse for him. "I suppose you want it." _

_He paused for a second, weighing his doubts. She could be lying, or she could be telling the truth –there was no telling –and if she was telling the truth there definitely had to be strings attached, but was he willing to accept those strings or try to outwit her to cut those strings? He'd have to risk it. _

_"For what price," he demanded. _

_"To call this stupid hunt off, that's it." _

_"No can do, sweetheart," he declined sharply. She shrugged. _

_"I can compromise," she offered. "Derek will be coaxed into a corner anyways –by either you or me –all I ask if that you spare his pack. Scott and Isaac…they're close to me." She admitted but she wasn't going to expose her weakness without granting it as a key element of strength, too. "Whatever happens to them will be rewarded –if they are protected, I'd be willing to extend my services to those who are kind enough –but I'm more than willing to terrorize and kill if necessary if they are put in danger and you know it, too." She snarled. _

_"I'm sure we can strike up a deal," he proposed. "You see, if Derek doesn't kill his pack, he's not the kind of Alpha we want in our pack, you understand that, don't you? What if we can offer you something in exchange for Isaac and Scott? I'm sure they don't mean as much as you think they mean to you." _

_She growled ferociously, startling Deucalion who frowned, realizing his mistake. "Or perhaps they do…" he submitted. "You never have been the kind of girl who was tied down. What is really tying you to them? Is it any obligation?" She remained silent. "You are a nomad, like me. We always look out for ourselves. I've heard stories of you –of how ruthlessly and callously you abandoned your pack of misfits for something better." He smirked as she stiffened, uncomfortable with the tables turned. "You could have killed them and put them out of their misery –it would have made you stronger." _

_"I don't want any more unnecessary killing," she confided strongly, staring at him intensely, "but you're right. I did move on to better things –how I don't get attached emotionally –and I see you're trying to use that to your argument to persuade me to drop any little strand of moral decency I have left and let me tell you, it won't work. I want Isaac and Scott alive and if something happens to them, I'll kill you and all those involved that's a part of your pack of crossbreeds." _

_"I think I see where you're going at," Deucalion smirked knowingly. Madison was stern in her posture as she tried to assess his shrewd expression. "You want his pack –for what reason, I don't know why –but you're willing to sacrifice Derek for the sake to preserve it little pack of misfits." He chuckled. "Tell me, why?"_

_"That's all speculation," she protested calmly, using her infamous cold stare and even voice, void of emotion, to throw him off. _

_An ominous stillness descended upon them and Madison acted upon the urge –despite the feeling of dread –to turn around and see the carnage. _

_Cora was choking around Kali's wrapped foot around her neck, flat upon the ground. She was surprised the arrogant Beta found herself in that situation. She didn't have the brightest insight on a situation. She wasn't as surprised to find Isaac and Scott trapped under the towering shadow of the twin's monstrous, conjoined being. Boyd choked blood onto the floor as he looked up at Madison –almost betrayed she wasn't helping them with worn, exhausted eyes. He didn't know she was trying to save them in the long run. _

_"Kill him," Deucalion demanded at Derek, referring to Boyd's exhausted form at their feet. The Alpha of Alphas stole a smirk and flashed it at Madison to torment her. She suppressed a growl. "The others can go," he compromised. "You said nothing about Boyd or Cora," Deucalion snidely commented to Madison. She swallowed painfully. "I honor our little compromise," he smirked. Derek looked up at Madison in utter betrayal. She shook her head furiously to deny it but she knew she should've taken more consideration to his whole pack instead of just her favorites. Deucalion was right –she was only looking out for her interests in the end and now either Boyd or Cora would pay for it –indirectly damaging any alliance Derek and she could have established. There was no way she could fix the situation. _

_Isaac and Scott were pulled up to their knees by their collars and looked up at Madison –confused but also gracious she had somewhere spared _them _but equally distraught she wasn't able to pull any more strings to expand that same relief onto the others. _

_"You're beaten," Deucalion condescendingly announced. He held out an arm to Madison and she understood the gesture. Disgusted, she obliged and led Deucalion down the steps with furious eyes glaring at him coldly. "Do it, Derek," Deucalion ordered, "take the first step," he coaxed. "Madison, dear, could you do me a favor? I want you to take a good look at both of them," Deucalion suggested. _

_Madison narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why," she bravely questioned him. _

_Deucalion smirked. "Would you just indulge an old man," he coaxed with a grin. Madison's jaw locked but she slowly obliged, looking sympathetically at both Cora and Boyd. All Cora could see were the same cold, icy eyes that haunted her before. She turned her head in defiance. _

_"Are we serious with this kid?" Kali had the audacity to question. She forced Cora's head back with the brute strength of her feet to the original direction Deucalion enforced and forced Cora to keep in contact with Madison's chilling blue eyes. "Look at him," she insulted condescendingly, "he an alpha?" She spoke skeptically, "to what, a couple of useless teenagers?" _

_"Some have more promise than others," Deucalion replied cryptically. He glanced at Madison with enthusiasm. Kali frowned, catching the meaning behind Deucalion's charismatic smirk. Madison caught Deucalion nudge towards Scott with a brief nod and she stiffened. _

_"Let him rise to the occasion then," Kali demanded. "What will it be Derek, pack or family," she gave an ominous ultimatum. To demonstrate by applying more force onto Cora's neck. _

_"One moment dear," Deucalion interrupted. He tapped Madison's fair hands. "Madison, could you care to look at Boyd?" Madison turned her head to the terrified boy. His heart stopped when her bone chilling eyes began to dilate black, consuming her eyes. _

_"Stop," he cried out in panic. Deucalion smirked as Boyd's heart began to race in terror. "Madison, stop! What are you doing?" _

_Boyd froze as images consumed his head, provoking cries of objections and salty, warm eyes a moment after each, dark regret, and uncertainly devoured his soul and mind. _

_Derek glanced between the confused blonde and the petrified Beta. Deucalion smirked victoriously. "Our hound has given us an answer, I see," Deucalion proclaimed. He nodded at Kali who understood his meaning and smirked in parallel. Madison's heart stopped when she, too, realize what they were doing. _

_"Stop, this isn't fair," she cried out. "You can't do that!" _

_"We didn't do anything. Fate had decided. You just showed us the verdict," Deucalion reprimanded. Madison shook her head furiously. Derek's brows furrowed at their cryptic conversation. _

_"Damn you," she snarled. _

_Deucalion laughed at her words. "Interesting choice of words but unfortunately for you, I can't see what mystical truth lie behind those stunning eyes of yours," he grinned, "but others can." Derek glared accusingly at Madison, blaming her for the turn of events. Frustrated, she glared back. _

I didn't attack him, _Madison accused mentally. He winced at her harsh tone. _You set all of this chaos in motion when you couldn't control your urge to charge. You made your bed now lie in it, _she hissed fiercely. _

_Madison snarled loudly, echoing throughout the building. An ear shattering crack followed, stunning all of them into silence of fear at the familiar sound of a gunshot. The firing at dulled out the high pitched squeal of an arrow that fell to the twin's feet, splitting them in two. _

_Both Scott and Madison smiled at each other as they acknowledged their friends had followed through and saved their asses. "Thank you Tabi," she mouthed in gratitude to no one in particular. Scott silently thanked Allison in his head as he caught the angelic brunette perched over the level above them, bow in hand. Tabitha was still concealed somewhere –much to Madison's relief. Allison's eyes wandered to the right, hinting she knew of Tabitha's location, and the grin on her lips hinted she was just as grateful for Tabitha's back up. _

_Another shocking arrow landed besides Cora and Kali who both let of shrill screams at the unexpected turn. Kali shielded her eyes with her sleeve from the blinding glare. A sequence of the next three bullets barraged them, hitting on twin in the shoulder –who, Madison couldn't be sure, but she was satisfied with the way he cried out in agony. Another nicked Kali in the back. She collapsed onto the floor. _

_"Your eyes," Deucalion warned loudly, kneeling down. "Cover your eyes!" He looked to the side where Madison's calm figure sat, amused it seemed. He frowned, suspicious of her. "Madison plucked out a few bullets from her coat pocket, counting them in her palm. 1 for the twin, another for Kali… so plucked two for them, and three more just in case, and handed the five to Deucalion, folding his hand around the bullets. _

_"I honor our deal," she mocked him. He clasped his fist around the wolf bane bullets. He growled but at the same time was impressed with her intellect and honor. She stood up in the line of fire as the arrows began to diminish with Allison's shortened supply and hurried to Scott and Isaac, helping them up as Ennis had abandoned them. Ennis kept his distance from the blonde, weary of her eyes and growled defensively. Scott offered Madison a brief hug, assuring both of them were okay and silently thanking her for coming through. _

_"I have to do this," Scott said. Madison –optimistic about Scott's chances as he was not frightened by her –recognizing the fact he didn't see any vision of death in her bright, vibrant eyes. She patted his back supportively. _

_"I know," she granted, "knock him dead," she joked. Scott grinned. She stepped aside and let Scott charge at Ennis. A thundering echo bounced throughout the dome when they collided, pushing each other away with the force alone. Scott slid on his feet and rose confidently, eyes just as red as Madison. She smiled victoriously, while Deucalion glanced to the side where Scott rose proudly with peaked interest. He shook the red orbs aside and replaced them with gold but Madison knew exactly what he was capable of and watched from the sidelines confidently. _

_Derek came up behind him in a surprise attack. Madison's impressed face fell when Derek –who wasn't as prepared –rashly took over. She growled menacingly and charged forward at an impeccable speed. Ennis had very little time to prepare and was stunned by the blur of blonde hair but was surprised to find it was not him she was after but Derek. She had shoved the darker haired male aside, pushing him onto the floor, snarling. Kali intercept her on Deucalion's order and grabbed her by the shoulder, propelling her back along the lines with the others. Derek watched intensely as Madison rejoined Isaac's side, herded by Kali's cautious eyes. _

_Derek resumed his battle with Ennis violently, much to Madison's anxiety as she flittered from right to left. Isaac tried to sooth her but she was too restless to be comforted by the boy's genuinely caring gesture. She reached her peak when Scott scrambled with a wounded side she hadn't noticed before, crawling on all three while one hand tended to the bleeding wound towards Derek and Ennis who dangled close to the edge. Madison couldn't hold it in and rushed forward, aiding Scott first and propping him up. _

_"Derek, let go," she shouted from the side. She couldn't risk intervening and making it worse. The delicacy of the situation was too great and she had to tread lightly. Scott struggled for breath. "Derek! You idiot! Stop this!" _

_Ennis head butted Derek and Madison cringed at the crush of the skull. Scott fell forward, escaping her grip and haggard forward, claws ready. "Scott, don't –no!" Madison foresaw. Her eyes widened in absolute horror as Scott reached over and swiped the back of Ennis's calf. Madison screamed in terror as Ennis arched in pain, still clutching Derek's shirt. He teetered to the edge, guided by Derek's hand, only he didn't predict to be dragged down by Ennis's great weight. _

_Madison felt numb from the feet down as she watched helplessly. She engrained Derek's brave expression –as if he was ready for this –as he plummeted. She crumbled to her knees with a hard thud. Scott heard her heart stop from behind as her limp body wobbled from side to side in shock but he was too focused on Derek to prioritize her. He loomed over the edge, watching as Derek plunged down the mighty drop, feeling his stomach drop. His heart sunk at the bone shattering thud that followed their bloody landing on the escalators below. He slowly turned his head to face Madison behind him. Her expression was similar to his with wide, disbelieving eyes and mouth agape, a mid-sob stuck in her throat. She felt her lungs cripple at the lack of air she was denying her body, not realizing she was holding her breath. She inhaled painfully before letting out a loud, blood curdling scream like no other. Deucalion winced at the infamous shrill of a banshee, as did Kali and the twins who were equally shocked by both Ennis's demise and Madison's banshee wail. The others heard the wail blend into a feral howl of grief and despondency. The blend of the two spine chilling sounds alarmed the Alphas who high tailed it out of there. Scott was pulled out of his trance by her agonizing wail. Isaac leapt forward, aiding her failing body as she collapsed onto the floor. He picked her up, with the aid of Scott who had crawled to her side. _

_Madison's head rolled back in despair as she exhausted herself with her howling alone. She fell into a sequence of whimpers. Her eyes fluttered and a stray tear slipped through her dark lashes. Scott hadn't seen the magnitude of grief within her and was almost paralyzed at the sight of the incapacitated blonde. She fainted with woe in their arms, blackening out. _

That was all Madison could remember about that night before blacking out. Scott had guided her back onto the bus with a gentle hand but she seemed to be in a saddened daze with cold eyes adrift in her own memory. He sat her down next to Tabitha who consoled her. Scott finally understood the complexity of the blonde Alpha. She was strong but that didn't hinder the fact she was allowed to silent grieving.

"Alright, let's go over this one more time," Stiles began ahead of them in his personal conversation between him and Lydia. "So it's the sacrifices, right? Everything has to do with them," he slapped his hands together to demonstrated, "and someone who think he's like a dark druid of some kind…"

"Or," Lydia corrected, "Actually is a dark druid."

"A Darach," Stiles clarified for both of them.

"You know," Lydia started, "some ancient cultures sacrifice people in preparation for battle," she informed. He nodded in acknowledgment, valuing the insert of information.

"So we got Alpha werewolves against a dark Druid," he summarized. He pressed his lips in a severe stern line.

"Yeah," Lydia whispered weakly, concerned by the magnitude of the situation. "And a Hell Hound…" she added wearily. "And Madison is right in the middle of," she sighed. Stiles turned his head quickly to face Lydia, bewildered by her announcement. "Allison told me about how Deucalion called her a hound and at first I thought it was just a name…something totally irrelevant and harmless…but given the circumstances, I thought I'd help and look into it. Do you know what a Hell Hound is?" Lydia asked incredulously. Stiles nodded his head.

"It's a dog-shaped entity said to forewarn death and illness," he answered. Lydia nodded furiously.

"Its appearance always precedes a death, an illness, or harm," Lydia clarified with a dramatic hand gesture. "In some scriptures, a Hell Hound is supposed to track and drag back souls to Hell –like a dog –thus why it's called a Hell Hound, and in other folklore, it's just a warning."

"And how does this involved Madison?" Stiles argued. "Maybe it's just a coincidence."

Lydia furiously shook her head. "I did a lot of thinking about it and I'm absolutely sure about it! Madison survived a fire and Hell Hounds are associated with fire! They often smell like it or leave ash behind in their tracks! Now, how did Madison survive that fire? It can't be a coincidence." She shuffled in her seat as she got more passionate about it. "She's impenetrable, immortal, whatever you want to say about, but she can't be harmed by fire! She was granted immunity to it!" She theorized. Stiles narrowed his brows together, actually considered Lydia's theory.

"Her mother was a witch," Stiles offered. Lydia's green eyes widened. "She could heal people but also hurt them. She was medicinal witch."

"That explains it!" Lydia snapped with her fingers as she connected the dots in her head. "Her mother gave her direct connection to life and death! This isn't just a coincidence!" She blurted out in a passionate speech.

"How," Stiles challenged skeptically. "Just because her mom could cure cancer doesn't mean she could cause it, too. I don't think she could have killed someone," he protested.

"While her mom could manipulate health, Madison could sense it –_can_ sense it! Since she was probably a baby, she was sensitive to that stuff! And given her werewolf abilities, her senses would be even more heightened!" Lydia continued avidly.

"But," Stiles challenged, "How is she alive? Hell Hounds come from the land of the dead. She can't be a Hell Hound if she's alive."

"Maybe she can," Lydia objected. "As long as she has that connection to the other side, she can very well be a Hell Hound." Her eyes widened as she remembered one particular incident. "_That fall, Stiles, remember the fall? _She was in the hospital for weeks! She was this close to death!" She pinched her fingers together. "She could have died before being revived by doctors that we didn't hear about!"

"Doesn't explain the fire as a child," Stiles pointed out.

"Maybe that was the mark, or the initiation! Maybe she was marked as a child to be destined to be one and when she fell into a coma, the link was finally established!" Lydia hypothesized. Stiles pursed his lips in deep thought.

"So what does that mean," Stiles asked gravely. "If Madison is a Hell Hound, what does that mean for us?"

"It means she's more connected to the Darach than anything else," Lydia proposed ardently. "The Darach is a being of nature but a Hell Hound is a _product _of nature and the world beyond whatever it might be. Do you get what I'm trying to say? The Darach and a Hell Hound will use each other. Where she goes marks death, and we can be sure the Darach will follow to assure _someone will die _just like she predicted with her presence alone. If we can follow Madison, maybe we can retrace her footsteps and figure out the Darach's next move. Wherever she goes might possibly be the next spot he hits. We have to be careful with her but we also need to follow her footsteps. She can give us answers whether she knows it or not! Do you know what I mean? If we follow her, she can inevitably lead us to the Darach!"

"Will she allow it?" Stiles asked, concerned. "She'll know if we're following her or not and she'll want to know what we're doing."

"We'll have to ask her ourselves," Lydia persisted. She turned over her shoulder to glance at Madison's still figure. She knew something was odd about the girl she first day she met her but she didn't realize her presence alone was that sinister. "We're safe now so long she's in her human form but we have to be careful when she shifts. She's a black wolf with red eyes?" Stiles nodded fervently. Lydia sighed heavily. "We got the right one."


	20. Devilish Deals (3x06 Motel California)

_SO SORRY FOR BEING MIA! I HAD A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON - WORK, SCHOOL, BARELY HAVING TIME TO CATCH UP..._

_ANYWAYS, THIS EPISODE/CHAPTER IS STILL IN PROGRESS BUT I'M MAKING A GOAL TO GET IT AND THE PERHAPS EVEN 3X07 DONE BY TODAY OR TOMORROW NIGHT/MORNING (DEPENDS BECAUSE I WORK AN 8 HOUR SHIFT...) SO ANYWAYS, UNTIL I GET THIS WHOLE CHAPTER DOWN, I'LL MARK THE MARKERS AS X AND CHANGE THEM LATER WHEN I KNOW HOW MANY PARTS WILL BE TOTAL IN THIS CHAPTER. ENJOY! _

_-LOVE, CASSIDY. _

* * *

_Teen Wolf_

3x06 -"Motel California"/ _Inferno of Insanity_

**Part 1**

_Two shadowed figures escaped the burning light of the gates behind him, retreating from the heat and into the dull blackness waiting outside. The smaller shadow clutched the taller one, almost molding into the thin physique. The blinding beam of light showcased the two as they continued to separate from the gates, revealing one to be a white angelic child, adorned with a wispy white dress falling over her knees. Her bare feet padded over the hard, cold ground. Droplets of blood smeared her toes. _

_Beside her, protecting from the elements outside the pair was a taller, cloaked figure, shrouded by a black cloak that dragged behind them, as it shadowed her face and arms with exception of the pale white hand holding the girl's hand. They walked slowly through the darkness with little light shining upon the pair. The younger one held the large skirt flowing from the tight corset adorning the feminine figure's slender torso. The black shrouded figure released the girl's hand and wrapped it around her head, holding the child's face closer to the layered fabric. She combed her long, white fingers through her dark curls and whispered soothing words low enough only for the child to hear. The prompted the little girl to look up. _

_The younger girl caught herself looking up at a towering figure. At the first, the hood of the large cape covered her eyes but she caught the glimpse of her ruby red lips reminding her of her mother and saw them twitch upwards in a smile. The black clad tilted her head to the side, enough to verify her calming white smile to assure the curious child. "Who are you?" the young girl weakly asked innocently. The figure smiled wider. _

_The older woman patted the child's smaller hands and wrapped them in her own, assuring her with protective warmth. "It's not important," she assured softly, kissing the child's forehead and soothing down her thick dark curls. The cape of the hood concealed the figure's face for a moment, enough for the child to see the whole face under the cover of the hood, but when the figure pulled back, the child wasn't frightened in the least. She grinned as if whoever was behind the large hood wasn't frightening at all. "What is important is that you don't belong here," she said lowly, gesturing to the wall of thick, towering trees and the clear, flattened path ahead of them. The loud clink of metal alarmed the child and she spun her head behind her, looking at the towering black gates that had closed behind them, locking immediately. "You don't need to go back there," the figure assured. "We're going back home, where you belong." _

_"We're going home?" The girl yipped happily, forgetting all about her dreadful surroundings. _

_"Yes," the figure guaranteed, "yes, we can, Madison." _

_Madison smiled –a rarity given the fact she had just emerged the most traumatic of circumstances. _

_Madison tried to keep up with the strangers pace, clutching her warm hand while she flittered behind the safety of the veil the woman's large skirt provided. Growls and snarls erupted from the dark shrouds of the forest and Madison cried out, gripping her hand tighter._

_"Don't worry, darling," the older woman soothed, rubbing her thumb over the child's tiny hand. "They are one of us." _

_"One of us," Madison repeated with uncertainty. Madison looked up, questions flowing through her ocean deep eyes, dark and stormy with confusion. The older woman smiled down confidently, bright blue eyes glowing from the darkness of her hood. _

_"They're a pack. Do you know what a pack is?" Madison nodded silently to answer the woman's question. "It'll be your pack, too, soon enough. You'll be stronger than any other werewolf, even stronger than your dad," the woman predicted. Madison smiled a bit but was strained with apprehension, unsure of the strange unknown to await her and the mention of her father brought bitter tears to her eyes as she wondered where he was and if he'd be alright. He must be looking for her –she remembered being with her mother last but her mother was dead and he was probably worried sick she met the same fate._

_They abruptly stopped as the forest thinned. Streams of light broke through the branches above them. _

_"Madison, sweetheart, I want you to listen very carefully to me. You and me –we're the same," the woman said quietly. The woman knelt down and soothed out the knee-length skirt of the girl's sacrificial white dress, and settled her hands on her small, frail shoulders. "Look at my eyes," she ordered softly. The woman brought her hand up to her hood, pulling it back, and unveiling long, cascading silver blonde hair curled around her face. Madison gulped, afraid by how cold and callous her icy eyes appeared to be at first but upon closer inspection, Madison caught the glimmer of anger and seeded sadness behind her cold blue eyes. Red roots began to extend to the black outline of her pupils, consuming her eyes into a vibrant red. Madison jolted back, frightened before the woman coaxed her back with comforting hands. She cupped the child's face with her long fingers and tenderly glided her fingers down the child's tear strained face. "Do not be scared. I'm merely a mirror. You may not understand now but I assure you, you'll remember this at one point in your life and you'll understand clearly. I'm you and you are me. We will rely on each other from this point on. I'll never let you down. No harm will come to you so long you have me." _

_Madison nodded as she accepted the woman's kind words and tried to flash a genuine smile. "You promise?" Madison desperately asked. "What if you get hurt?" _

_The woman grinned and unclasped her coat and wrapped the black fabric around the girl's delicate shoulders, cloaking her in darkness. "I won't get hurt and neither will you, not anymore. We're going to protect each other, okay?" She shook the girl's hands in her own, gripping tightly and protectively. Madison shook her head but her pouted lips betrayed her façade, hinting doubt. _

_"I can't even protect mommy," Madison whimpered. The woman shook her head. _

_"We can't protect anyone else. We can only protect ourselves," she explained. She clutched a hand around Madison's small face. "We're going to be stronger, faster, braver, and smarter than before –than anyone else. We're going to be a force," she assured Madison. "You're no longer going to be scared, not of nobody or anything." _

_"I'm scared now," Madison confided, eyeing the dark scenery with same apprehension and uncertainty. A blood curdling scream followed by distant chorus of howls startled the child and Madison leapt forward into her arms, clutching the woman's neck in a steel grip. The woman grinned, pleased with the amount of strength this youthful child had already possessed. It was confident start. _

_"I won't let anything happen to you," she promised. She began to morph with a blur of black matching the same sinister color of her dress. Madison continued to hold on for dear life, paralyzed with conflicting emotions of fear and safety regarding the strange entity. She felt the soft square of flesh morph into a coarse texture of fur and opened her eyes to see the same depth of blackness as before. She lifted her head from the shoulder and felt her heart skip a beat when she found herself staring at the vibrant red eyes staring intently at her. She was scared though, she realized, when she found the gaze sternly on her. She felt safe under its watchful gaze and returned a grateful smile and embraced the large black beast of a wolf, molding into it. _

_The wolf nodded to the others who peered from behind him, following the pair intently at the acceptance of another into their large ranks. One wolf initiated a howl, stepping forward, following another, until the chorus rang in strength, enough so to shake the withering leaves off the branches looming above them. Red strained leaves flittered to their feet. _

_"It's time to go home, sweetheart," the older woman told, returning to her beautiful form. Madison nodded in agreement and grabbed her pale hand and followed her through the beaming, blinding light obstructing her vision. They walked through a white tunnel until stepping back into a familiar archway. _

The memory –much like the others –had disappeared from Madison's mindset, faded over the years. It seemed like all those forgotten memories didn't even leave a mark as she looked mindlessly out the window, catching a nearby Motel sign come into view as the bus visibly slowed down. She pulled her head from the cold, evening bitten window and to her best friend, Tabitha. The brunette slept quietly on her shoulder, peacefully, after hours' worth of driving coaxed her to sleep –or perhaps it was boredom.

"Hey Tabitha," Madison whispered. She shook the sleeping brunette softly. "Tabi, we're here. Tabby-cat, come one, get up," she coaxed. Tabitha lay dormant on Madison's supportive shoulder. "Tabs, Tibby, Tib-Tib, come on, we're stopping somewhere," she pried Tabitha's mop of ruffled hair off her clean shoulder and patted her cheek roughly. Tabitha groaned and subconsciously swiped at Madison's hand. The blonde chuckled and opted for an alternative method and began to tickle her mercilessly. Tabitha shrieked awake, startling the others around her mindless of the fact they were sleeping or not. Madison burst into a melodious, wholehearted fit of laughter as Tabitha's terrified face before Tabitha retaliated with a punch to Madison's gut –needless to say it didn't amount to anything for Madison who was slowly recovering from her boisterous laughter.

"Glad you're awake finally," Madison said as she gathered their bags in preparation. The bus had made an official stop by then outside the small, run-down motel. Tabitha rested her large bag on her lap, drumming her fingers along the top in impatience. Students from the front were standing up and exiting, prompting a line from the mid-half of the bus. "Hold your breath," Madison reminded all of them. It wasn't until then when the others beside her groaned, reminded of the pungent stench awaiting them up front. Tabitha inhaled sharply and held her breath as she stood up, preceding Stiles, who was also cut off by the other girls. He and Scott were the last to exit.

"Oh…now this is why I should have just brought my truck," Tabitha condescended. Madison nodded along agreeably, as they all took in the poor conditions of the Motel. At least Tabitha's truck had enough room with the back seats flattened to fit in an air mattress. The Ford was in nice, mint, and clean condition –more than they could say of the outdated motel.

"Well, they probably have a bathroom to shower and clean up," Madison amended, smiling forcefully as she tried to think of the bright side. Tabitha shrugged doubtfully.

"I've seen worse," Scott intercepted their conversation, stepping behind them, bags in tow.

"Where have you seen worse," Stiles challenged skeptically.

"It's not the Ritz, let's agree on that," Madison announced to all four of them. Tabitha adjusted the thick padded strap on her shoulder, moving it over her head and on the other shoulder.

The loud, irritating squeal of the whistle whipped Madison's sensitive hearing. She cringed alongside Tabitha. "Listen up," Coach yelled, "the meets been pushed to tomorrow. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and the least amount of good judgment when it comes to accepting a bunch of degenerates like yourselves'," Coach pointed out. Tabitha rolled her eyes. "You'll be pairing up," Coach continued, holding up a handful of room keys, "chose wisely. Madison and Tabitha winked at each other, nodding in silent understanding and Tabitha nudged Madison forward to take the key.

"120, nice," Madison commented, looking at the number inscribed on the key. Tabitha threw her a thumb up.

"Hopefully it's not a corner room," Tabitha wished.

"I just don't want to be on the main floor," Madison added but frowned, knowing very well the '1' on 120 insinuated the first floor.

"Just close the curtains," Tabitha optimistically advised. Madison rolled her eyes but grinned none the less, actually looking forward to a bed to sleep in finally.

"And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you little deviants," Coach yelled out loud after the hoard of kids had advanced past him. "Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves!"

Madison snickered and playfully slapped Tabitha on the behind. Tabitha mocked a gasp, feigning along. "Maddy," she chided whimsically, "save that for later," she whispered later. Stiles and Scott exchanged weary looked behind them before returning their intense gazes back on the pair. Madison shrugged, feeling their heated gazes, but ignored them.

"Couldn't help myself, Tabby-cat," she snipped. Tabitha lightly slapped her mid-air hand aside and harrumphed. "I couldn't keep my dirty hand to myself."

Tabitha let out a hearty laugh and stopped at a familiar door, reading 120 on the door block. Madison halted behind her and growled when she caught sight of the numbers.

"Damnit, _first floor_," Madison hissed while they parting from the pair of boys who ascended up the stairs. Madison stayed at a standstill, eyes glancing from the chipping door to Scott's back until he made a sharp turn and she lost sight of him. Tabitha stole the key from Madison's loose grip and unlocked the door, pushing it open violently as it refused to budge. It succumbed to her strength even in her human state and she collapsed on the bed closest to her, falling face first and into the thin, outdated (but at least clean washed) sheets. "Check for bedbugs," Madison reminded her. She dropped her bag next to Tabitha's and sat on the edge of the other bed, leaning back and collapsing.

"At least we're next to the vending machine," Tabitha's weak, exhausted voice piqued. Madison shrugged.

"I call shower first," Madison announced. She jumped up and into the shower, not hesitating to shed her clothes on the way and shield her body behind the curtain. "Can you get some extra towels please?"

"Sure," Tabitha groaned. Tabitha kneeled down and retrieved some sleep wear from her bag, fisting a simple gray t-shirt and red polka-dotted shorts that even she admitted where too short for her comfort. She changed quickly out of her sportswear and discarded her bra –rather feeling free than constricted. No one would notice, she assumed. She got up and exited the room, key in hand, and searched the premise for the front office, wondering where the extra towels would be.

_Teen Wolf _

Jennifer had trouble opening the door while Derek hung from Sloane's grip. Jennifer wasn't in the least encouraged by Sloane's cold blue eyes. She felt unnerved by his stare, feeling it burn a gaping hole in her back. She fumbled with the door lock and finally managed to budge it open, pulling it slowly to the side while Sloane dragged Derek with ease, letting his feet drag along the cement floor.

"Oh my God, this is a bad, very bad idea. We should be taking him to the hospital," Jennifer panicked behind Sloane.

"No," Derek and Sloane simultaneously answered. Sloane's harsh voice almost overpowered Derek's meek whimper.

Sloane rolled his eyes at the finicky woman and to prove a point of his lack of care, he purposely dropped Derek on the floor. His body fell in a loud thud, startling Jennifer who screamed in protest. She fell over his body, desperately asking if he was okay while she also glanced up at Sloane's uncaring expression and returned it with equal bitterness.

"My part is done," Sloane replied. Derek's dazed eyes rolled over to the direction of Sloane.

"What, no, please, you have to help us," Jennifer pleaded as Sloane spun in the opposite direction.

"I do not care for either of you," Sloane replied. "Perhaps if he succumbs to his injuries, it'll put a stop to his recklessness for good and my daughter will no longer put her life on the line for the likes of you," Sloane snipped bitterly.

_Teen Wolf _

A strange smell of smoke alarmed Madison as she doused herself in hot, steaming water. In rising panic, she reached out for the small towel on the rack outside the shower and wrapped it around her slender body.

It was the only towel available to wrap around her long torso, barley covering her rear. She pressed the top of her towel closer to her body until it became almost like a second skin, in fear the towel would slip and she'd become bare. She stepped out of the steamed shower and out of the bathroom to inspect her room but found it bright and empty –Tabitha had left the lights on when she left and she still hadn't returned.

There was no sign or smell of fire or smoke either. She had remembered it so vividly only moments ago and now it had all but disappeared. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously –her nose never lied and she knew the smell of smoke as it was burned into a memory. There was no mistaking it.

Madison hummed to herself in slight confusion before returning to the bathroom. She stopped abruptly to glance at the mirror –believing for a second to have seen a stranger –but when she turned her head, she only saw her own reflection.

Her damp wet hair clung to her neck and shoulders, and her skin seemed paler than before –almost white –while her vibrant blue eyes struck against her colorless complexion in a way she hadn't seen before. She leaned in closer, observing her strange reflection with narrowed eyes. She stretched her lips to examine her teeth and was surprisingly frightened for a second when the reflection revealed her abnormally long, sharp canines. She veered back in fright and pressed her thumb to her teeth, feeling for the canines, but found none, much to her confusion, when the reflection showed her in mid transition –with eyes fiercely ruby red and claws extended. She looked at her hands. There were no claws and she started to question her sanity for a second.

A knock of some sort brought her attention back to the door but when the knock sounded again, it wasn't the door she realized but the clanging of the mirror. She spun her head back to the foggy mirror. She wiped it with her wet hand again, creating a small vividly clear circle, to clean the condensation off the reflective surface. A scream caught in her throat when she was locked in a fierce, unwavering glare of a monster she had only remember so many times of her life.

It was her reflection again –but with the same ravenous red eyes and smooth moon, silver hair curled around her face. A sadistic smirk adorned the reflection's face, marking sinister intentions with her ruby red lips alone. Large canines bit into her bottom lip as claws reached up to the glass surface and scratched tantalizingly on thin material, prompting a shrill whine that made Madison's ears ache and protest with overwhelming ringing.

The demon like replica of her was wordless but her actions alone described how desperately she wanted to get out of where ever –or whoever –she was trapped within, how eager she was to run rapid and unleash uncertain chaos into the world. Madison was held in her devilish gaze and was unable to look away. The stream of the shower behind the curtain began to rise in a puff, mimicking smoke, consuming the room and the oxygen within in slowly suffocating Madison as she was paralyzed with fear. Her ears rung as the shower let out a piercing scream as the heat began to rise with the jump of temperature around them.

Tabitha was ignorant of the torment her friend was trapped in as she made a quick stop to the vending machine, towels under her arms and cash in the other hand, prepared to pick out a Snickers or Kit Kat but found the selection underrated as she observed behind an indecisive Boyd. He was silent, contemplating the lack of choices, while she grew impatient.

"Come on, Boyd, can we hurry up please?" Tabitha urged. Boyd was unresponsive and she groaned. "Seriously," she grumbled sourly.

Her eyes deflected to stairs where oncoming footsteps descended down the concrete makeshift steps. She recognized the stranger immediately by his tussled hair and wide honey brown eyes and he, too, recognized the glowing brunette behind Boyd. She seemed…different…in a good way. He still couldn't get over how quickly she defeated her illness. She seemed to strive, with healthy, thick dark curls that had yet to lighten under the Californian sun, and unique emerald green eyes that sparkled and gleamed just like her welcoming smile. His stomach flipped at the slight of her.

"Yo, Tabs, how are you," Stiles asked, joining her side. She lifted the towels from under her arms over her upper torso as a shield when the bitter cold bit at her skin through the thin material of her shirt –prompting an embarrassing reaction from her breasts. She hoped Stiles didn't catch the sudden perk of shirt and kept direct eye contact with him to assure his eyes hadn't wandered from her own.

"I-I-I'm good," she stuttered. Her legs jittered, uncomfortable being so exposed and so pale in the middle of the night. "How are you?" She asked.

"I'm great," Stiles yipped enthusiastically. Tabitha's eyes wandered to Boyd again, watching his fingers type in a certain code.

"Thank God," she whispered graciously, "finally."

"Hey," Stiles approached Boyd's side casually. "That's the same thing I was going to get." Suddenly the machine paused, jamming the Peanut Butter Crackers within the machine. Tabitha groaned obnoxiously behind them. "Oh, hang on, you know what?" Stiles offered, sliding the dollar in his hand back into his pocket. "I got a patented method for this, don't worry."

The heart pounding fear brought upon the unexpected shattering of glass surprised both of them, not anticipating at all for Boyd to punch through the thin fiber glass of the machine in frustration. Tabitha jumped back, letting out a shrill scream that only lived for a second before Stiles calmed her down, pulling her to his side. She dropped her towels on the ground and molded to his torso, fisting his jacket and hiding her face under his chin. His hands wrapped around her thin waist protectively. Boyd pulled out his selection forcefully as Tabitha held Stiles in a steel grip, frightened. He noticed her peculiar reaction but did not speak anything of it, continuing to hold her trembling body closer to him. He also didn't mention he could feel her lack of straps under her shirt when his hand drifted upwards to rub soothing circles in her tense shoulder blades. He stiffened instantly, slowly processing both factors of the unusual situation. First and foremost, Tabitha –the fearless, bold, gun slinging, and beautiful green eyed vivacious Latina notorious for mouthing off and slamming people up against solid items when clinging to _him _for protection of some sort by the simple sound of shattered glass. Second, said beautiful green was _braless. _He didn't know which fact disturbed him more –and by disturbed –he meant utterly taken by surprise by (in some positive aspects.) He hoped her fright distracted her from his own (excited) physical reaction.

"All right, he's gone," Stiles coaxed Tabitha with a gentle voice as he watched Boyd's figure disappear back to his room. She slowly parted from Stiles' figure and gathered the towels lying in disarray on the pavement. Stiles' eyes followed her bent form and froze, tilting his head subconsciously to admire her rear but only for a moment before reminding himself of her terrified state of mind. Tabitha would have been a bit flattered –that had been her goal all along to seduce him –but she was too shaken by Boyd's sudden violent outburst. "Hey, hey," Stiles called to here as she took her first trembling steps away from the scene. She stopped and turned to Stiles who gestured to the machine. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

She nodded obediently, unable to form words and plucked a bag of pretzels from a random shelf and scurried back to her lodging.

"Madison, Madison," Tabitha yelled as soon as she burst through the door. She slammed it behind her and locked it with urgency. She pried open the bathroom door open, assured by the sound of the shower continuing to run. "Madison, the strangest thing just happened," she rambled. "Boyd was totally out of it and he punched the vending machine and it scared me and I literally jumped into Stiles and…" she faded off. Something wasn't right. Why wasn't she hearing the wet padding of feet? She curled her fingers around the curtain and pulled it aside and was startled when she found the occupancy of the small molded space vacant. "Maddy?" She asked out loud. She turned off the shower and returned to the twin sized room. "Maddy, where are you?" She stopped abruptly before Madison's bed and felt her heart race when she heard something move from under the bedframe. Her stomach sunk and she jittered in terror, afraid of what could be lurking from under the bed skirt.

She did exactly as she was told by Madison before on multiple occasions and ran out of the room, key in hand, without a second thought and ran, hell bent for safety. She rushed up the stairs that Stiles had descended and knocked on the first door in sight.

_Teen Wolf _

Lydia approached the front desk, irate. With the concoctions of factors such as her displeasure and weariness about the motel, her unanswered suspicions about Madison, and the reek of nicotine masking their room, she was all but ready to chew the front lady out –eager to release her pent up frustrations. She had no reservations, even if it appeared it was an elderly woman behind the desk –the white-gray strands of hair intertwined into an elaborate bun said enough about her ancient age, face or no face. When the lady wouldn't turn around to face Lydia, the strawberry blonde fumed.

"Excuse me," she impatiently demanded, exasperating at the end. "Uh, the card on the dresser says we have a non-smoking room but…" she clicked her tongue and glanced sideways for a moment of distraction, "somehow all of our hotel room reeks of nicotine." She exaggerated an eye roll, missing the woman spinning around to face the aggravated red-head, and was surprised to get a full view of her worn, wrinkled face but it was the respirator bandaged to her neck that had Lydia regretting her words.

"Sorry about that sweetheart," the woman apologized with an infamous smoker's voice. Her light blue eyes were wide and vibrant though, conflicting with her heavy, worn flesh and excessive weight under her old-style floral print dress and maroon cotton sweater.

Lydia's disturbed, uncomfortable green eyes wandered a bit for a distraction and were caught on a sequence of numbers posted on the board. 1-9-8 it read on the small board above the woman. "What's that?" Lydia asked, "That…number?"

"It's a… kind of inside thing for the motel. My husband insists on keeping it up," the woman vaguely explained.

"What do you mean," Lydia further persisted, desperate for a filler but slightly intrigued by the mystery behind the 'inside thing.'

"It's a little bit morbid but to be honest, you sure you want to know?" The woman warned.

"Tell me," Lydia answered evenly, not skipping a beat as she maintained eye contact with the woman. Her curiosity sky rocketed upon the graphic description of 'morbid' inserted into the conversation. She was slightly moved by the dark, unsuspected turn of the conversation and felt a shiver run up her spine.

"We're not going to make the top of anyone's list when it comes to customer satisfaction," the woman began. Lydia harrumphed quietly, agreeing obnoxiously in her usual, sardonic manner engrained in her attitude and personality from years of being considered one of few on top in her school's hierarchy.

"Obviously," Lydia quietly but snidely slid in, unable to restrain her sharp tongue.

"But," the woman continued, unaffected, "we're one in California when it comes to one disturbing little detail. Since opening, more than any other motel in California, we have the most guests' suicides." Lydia's heart stopped at the woman's appalling revelation and her eyes widened in absolute, concentrated horror.

"_A hundred and ninety eight,_" Lydia murmured in disbelief, unable to fathom the quantity of the number. The woman nodded her head.

"In counting," she taunted, adding a cackling laugh at the end to certify Lydia's internal terror.

_Teen Wolf_

"Do you want me to pick you up?" Chris Argent asked over the phone. "I don't mind a late night drive." He assured. His eyes wandered from his stoic reflection in the puddle of water beside him to black clad man coming from behind him. He stiffened and shot out his arm from his waist belt to the air, gun in hand and finger on trigger, but that didn't ease the shake of his grip when his blue eyes were caught in another set of colder, icier ones glaring right at him.

"No, no, it's okay," his daughter protested politely. "We are at a motel."

"Did the school pay for that?" Chris continued to ask when the figure raised his hands in mock surrender and waved a hand for him to continue talking to his daughter. Chris felt uneasy but did so anyways. He didn't let on to Allison the possible danger he presently was in with the new presence.

"Yeah, yeah…it's not great but it's, um, just for a night," Allison summarized.

"What's it called?" Chris asked lowly.

"The Glenn Capri," Allison answered. "Do you know it?"

"It-uh…sounds familiar," Chris loosely replied, unsure. "Listen, sweetheart, I'm going to hop in the car and come and get you guys," Chris said.

"No," Allison protested. "No –dad –seriously, it's okay."

"If there is something you feel like can't tell me, I just want you to know you can talk to me. We don't have to keep anything from each other," Chris promised.

"I know," Allison understood.

Chris abruptly hung up the call and continued to aim the firearm at Sloane as the much taller man approached slowly in suspenseful, deliberate steps around the weary retired hunter. "I'm not here to kill you," Sloane guaranteed lowly in his Americanized accent. Chris caught the wavering dip of Russian tongue in his short, sporadic speed though and was slightly intrigued at how rich the vowels sounded and how strange it was to hear it come from Sloane's throat.


	21. Devil's Deal P2 (3x06 Motel California)

Sloane shoved his gloved hands in his long trench-coat pockets. "I probably ought to. You burnt down my house and any possible memory Madison could have recovered. It's a very, very tragic thing when you can't even find baby pictures of your only daughter," Sloane shook his head, dismayed, "or your wife's wedding photo. Luckily, I can still recall her in that lovely gown and her radiant smile," Sloane trailed off. A ghost of a sincere smile slipped onto his face but it quickly vanished as his still lips suddenly moved to continue the fragment of his sentence. "I don't think Madison ever will and that by far is my worst regret."

Sloane slowly pulled off the glove off his hand by kneading his fingers roughly under the thin leather, pushing it off his fingers tips but Chris was locked in with Sloane's cold blue eyes to notice the subtle movement in his deep trench coat pockets.

Chris gulped and turned in a circle, following Sloane's unpredictable, shadowy figure. "I'm sorry, Sloane. I-I-I…there's no excuse for what I did."

Sloane shrugged. "Don't apologize because you want to save your own ass," Sloane growled. "I said I wasn't going to kill you and I won't but that doesn't mean you can pull the same move as you did in the past and shoot me. Let me assure you, that won't work this time." He shook his head and glared at the gun. "If you would be so kind and put the gun down, please, before I act upon the urge to break your wrist to diminish the chance the trigger will be pulled," he demanded harshly. Chris's fingers trembled as he put the gun back into its holster. "Thank you," Sloane grumbled.

_Like daughter, like father, _Chris thought disgruntledly. _I can see where she gets it from._ Chris was reminded of the brief encounter he had with Madison outside the parking lot and how she made a similar threat. He was slightly unnerved by the uncanny similarities between the two and shivered. "If you didn't come to kill me, what did you come here for?" Chris demanded shakily.

"To protect my daughter," Sloane said immediately with cold blue eyes. Chris's mouth hardened into a firm, stern line.

"I understand _that, _but why did you come _here, _after _me?" _Chris emphasized.

"I thought you suffered enough paranoia in your life," Sloane snickered, much to Chris's discomfort. "I mean, after you and your sister slaughtered my family, you always looked over your shoulder everywhere you went and you could never settle, but then again, that was your own fault."

Chris shook with fury. "We had to run to avoid your family. We knew very well the consequences of killing one of the last surviving Volkov blood lines. We put a target on our backs."

"That was your own fault," Sloane bit back sardonically, raising a brow in mock surprise. His expressions were nothing like Madison's, no, not in the least. Madison also adorned her mother's knowing smirk while Sloane's face was hardened like concrete and rock, void of raw emotion, always concealed or deflated. "Sadly, you covered your tracks well," Sloane admitted, "and Luca didn't get very far, but then again, he wasn't a tracker –luckily for you. I, on the other hand, am, and if it was the other way around and it was him and his family you killed, you wouldn't be here today, and you know that. Instead, it was me in that casket and it was my daughter at the funeral. I always wondered if it was some last strand of morality in your spine that made you rethink murdering my daughter or perhaps you were too much of a coward to spill innocent blood on your hands?" Sloane demanded.

"I-I-I…" Chris stuttered. "I don't remember. You have to believe me. I don't remember seeing her there."

Sloane smirked a little, unnerving Chris. "Ah, that's right," Sloane snidely commented, throwing his head back loosely and glancing at the pillars above him with unmoved eyes. "You don't remember. How foolish of it. How can we have an honest conversation if you can't recall the memories I stole from you? That's unfair of my part. I should probably give them back to remind you and perhaps then you can enlighten me with your state of mind during those few, last memorable moments." Sloane titled his head and flashed Chris his menacing smirk, one that mimicked Madison's –or maybe Madison unknowingly mimicked her father's. Either way, the young blonde had nothing on her father when it came to the fear that shot adrenaline through Chris's veins upon the sight of such a terrorizing image. It was the smirk he was notorious for before slaying his victims. Chris plunged his hand towards the holster where his gun lay out of instinct.

Sloane leapt forward and the crack of gunshot shattered the eerie silence. Chris was pushed back by a tremendous force and his body ached, cringing at the excruciating and paralyzing tsunami of bone vibrating waves coursed through his body upon slamming his back on the concrete. He groaned out loudly and winced as he tried to get up the weight on his body flattened him upon the cold ground. He rested for a moment, hoping the eerie silence would clear his head of the ear piercing ringing.

As his vision blurred behind his lids when he attempted to lift them, the dull gray colors brightened into a distance memory –ignoring the searing burn in his shoulder.

_"Kate, Kate," Chris cried out, pulling her back from the scene. It was all a rushed blur at the moment, from him racing out of his car to reach her inside –knowing well _someone _was dead and knowing the rumors swirling around the newfound Volkov target, he put his bets that Kate would be the one lying in a blood on the kitchen floor. _

_He was surprised – undeniably gratefully, though, as he favored his sister above anyone else (family came first and foremost) –when he discovered it was a woman with dark, unruly locks sprawled at their feet instead of his sister, both of whom were blanketed with blood. _

_Chris didn't dare to kneel down and lift the woman's face or removed the curtain of blood-tangled curls off her face –as he felt his stomach churn at the sight of her bloodied, mangled form as it was and he wouldn't have the heart or stomach to dare and look in her fear stricken eyes. It was too cruel to do that but standing over her lifeless figure didn't help the matter either. Both Kate and Chris were paralyzed with a whirl of emotions, confusing both of them as they were conflicted with how to proceed. _

_"Who's she," Chris whispered hoarsely. _

_"His wife," Kate mangled out shakily. "Oh my God, we're dead. We're so dead," she whimpered as she clutched his arm painfully in fright. She had come to full realization of her actions –while Chris was still left in the dark at the missing pieces of puzzle of the events that had preceded his late arrival – and she felt a similar sensation of her stomach churning before it sank completely, weighing her down. She leaned on her brother for support as she eyed the scene with wide, horrified green eyes. "She's dead. I killed her," she whimpered out of fright. "He's going to kill us –he's not going to stop until he finds and everyone we love and kill us," she cried out in a panic. _

_Chris assured his sister by patting her arm lightly and letting her go momentarily to move the body aside, grabbing the corpse's bare feet but the bloody flesh slipped out of his hands and slapped on the kitchen floor with a cringe worthy thud. _

_A squeak caught his attention and Chris snapped his neck to the far side of the kitchen where a blooded body huddled to the corner. Her frail body was almost as lifeless as the woman but he caught with his keen eyes a twitch in her shoulders. He turned his head over his shoulder and turned to Kate with appalled eyes. _

_Kate's expression was ghastly and her mouth was agape with horror. A small gasp fell from her lips and she covered her mouth with her bloody hand, leaving a morbid print along her cheeks as she honed in on the startling child who slowly came to. _

_Chris walked carefully around corpse and kneeled over the child's crippled body and dipped his hands under her weak, fatigued figure and molded her almost weightless body in his arms, balancing her in his arms. Her blood soaked dress clung to his arms like paste as her dark hair snarled over her bruised and battered shoulders. Grey consumed the child's complexion and Chris paled at the sad reality she might be too weak to survive. _

_Her eye lids fluttered a small gasp escaped her blue chapped lips. He jolted but kept her in his supportive hold and watched as her chest heaved one last dying breath and fall silent and still. He felt his throat well up at clutched his hands tighter around her limp body and held her close to his body. "I'm so sorry," he whispered to her. His fingers shook in anger as he turned to Kate furiously, glaring at her with all the spite he could muster and gestured to the dead child in his hands. "What on God's earth did you do, Kate," he howled. Kate flinched at Chris's volume. "Look what you did, Kate! She was just a child's for Christ's sake!" Chris yelled. Kate stepped back, appalled by her brother's fury. _

_He laid down her body next to the woman's and jolted back in fright when he saw the woman's long, bloodied fingers glide through her own pool of blood slowly –as if sensing the child was near her –and wrapped her fingers around the child's tender wrists and engulfed her small palms with her own. Her strength was all but gone but her last ounce of energy was spent on pulling her child closer to her, despite both being absorbed into the massive pool of blood, and protecting her under her arm. _

_"No, no," Kate whispered dreadfully. "No, this can't be happening." Chris was shoved back violently as Kate stole the crossbow he had dropped in haste and fired it at her head. The woman's body jolted at the force and ultimately stilled for the last time as her arms went limp over the child's curled body. _

_"KATE!" Chris screamed in pure devastation as he just fathomed what she did. "Kate!" He shook her violently, grabbing the crossbow from her hands, "you just signed our death warrants!" _

_"If she lived, she would have remembered our faces and we would be running for the rest of our lives," Kate reasoned passionately as she pointed to the corpse. _

_"We're going to be doing that anyways now that you killed his family," Chris hissed as he gathered his crossbow and gripped her elbow painfully tight as he tugged her to the door. "We need to go and get away as soon as possible!" _

_Kate was about to protest when they heard the door slam and they was paralyzed on the stop as it would only be seconds before Sloane's pounding footsteps would abruptly stop in front of them. They was frozen with overwhelming fear as they saw his large frame burst into the small room, almost blocking the light of the window as his figure froze in similar stature but his eyes weren't glued to them but the bloody carnage behind him. _

_His eyes welled up and a silent scream fell from his lips as they parted in a moment of disbelief before it all came crashing down on him in a terrible crushing rain. He let out a horrid, bone chilling roar so vicious. Chris stumbled back and clattered to the ground in fright at the feral cry but his thudding heart came to an abrupt stop when Sloane's blood boiling rage was depleted to nothing short of a pitiful man crumbling to his knees at the site of his family desecrated. _

_Kate was almost pleased with her victory, Chris noted, when he caught the upturn of her lips. Sloane clutched his heart as he gasped for air. He locked in on his wife's bloodstained dress and caught the second pair of feet lying next to her knees and he wailed mournfully, howling so loudly Chris heard some of neighborhood dogs howl alike, moved by the man's volume and tremendous emotion. _

_He gathered some of his strength and shakily staggered to their bodies, crumbling midway and slipping into the blood, staining his jeans and loose polo but all he could see was his girls' stained dresses and knotted thick trusses of hair. He dipped his finger into the mess and pulled away some of Madison's dark locks and wailed like any other father would when he failed to do the one thing he promised to when he held the small child in his arms years ago for the first time. He felt a part of him wither and die right then and there when he berated himself on how he failed her, how he failed the one thing that didn't deserve any of this. _

_"Why," he choked hopelessly, trembling. His large hand shook as he shifted his palm to the other face and pulled some of Aubrey's curls from her face and tucked them behind her ear. He saw the cuts on her cheeks that she maintained in a fierce fight –because that's what Aubrey was –she was fighter but she was overpowered and both she and their daughter paid a cruel price. _

_"Daddy," the little girl choked as she spat blood from her lips. She shivered and wailed. "Daddy, it's icky. I don't feel too good." She reached out with her little hands and clutched his shirt. _

_Sloane gasped painfully, as the overwhelming wave of relief all but knocked the oxygen from his lungs. He heaved her up and cradled her head in the nook of his neck and stood up, focused on her safety as her glared murderously at the Argent siblings. _

_"Sweetheart, go," Sloane coaxed his terrified daughter sweetly, using a docile voice Chris could have never imagined he was capable of. Sloane knelt down to usher Madison to the hallway. "Stay there and I'll come and get you, please, do what daddy says," he pleaded. She nodded obediently and clung to the wall with her blood hands, smearing her prints gruesomely over the dull yellow paint. "I'm going to kill both of you," Sloane seethed loudly, not in the least holding back. Chris stumbled back as Sloane's eyes erupted into a raging red. Sloane growled viciously, baring his long canines protruding from his lip and extending his sharp, talon like claws and charged forward, slashing at Kate. _

_Chris intervened and pushed her down to the ground, taking the hit in his shoulder. He yelped in pain and tumbled on the floor, dropping his crossbow and clambering to retrieve it but he was pulled back by Sloane's merciless hands, ripping into his jeans and slashing his back. _

_Kate was awed and mesmerized by the display –the great son of the legendary wolf, Edik –in action, but the cry from her brother's lips called her into action and she slid across the floor and swiped the crossbow, aiming it just like she had with his wife and fired. This time, Sloane's reflexes were quicker and he ducked and turned his attention to the terrified blonde and leapt upon her, grabbing a fistful of her hair and tossing her on the ground. "You," he snarled, "your scent is all over her," he referenced to his deceased wife. "You killed her. That was all you," he growled. _

_The distraction was all Chris needed as he grabbed the crossbow that was landed behind Sloane's feet and angled it quickly. Sloane heard it being handled and turned his head behind him to see what Chris could possibly be doing but it was his fatal error as the move gave Chris the opening he needed. The quick snap of the string shot the lethal arrow into his head, sinking into his skull and embedding itself just above his brow. _

_Sloane tumbled backwards until he collapsed on his back besides Aubrey, arms sprawled and body withered as his endured the last excruciating moments. Kate looked to Chris who was fading in and out of consciousness as the severity of Sloane's wounds disabled him. Kate was torn as she looked back and forth between Chris and the small shadow lurking from the archway leading to the hallway and acted on her impulsive urge to finish the job. _

Chris was shook awake by Sloane's fisted hands clutched around his collar. Chris groaned and groggily sat up, still sore from the fall. He saw Sloane's unharmed figure loom over him.

"How," Chris asked weakly as he bent his knee for balance.

"I told you it won't work," Sloane pointed to the small hole in his shoulder. "I'm already dead –you can't kill what's dead," he smirked. "Now, since you're up to date with that memory of yours, we can continue this conversation."

Chris whimpered as he was roughly pulled onto his feet and pushed back against the wall. "Now, let's be blunt."

"I didn't kill her. Madison was already dead when I got there," Chris replied in a haggard stress, "and you know that. You saw her. I saw her. She wasn't breathing. She died in my arms and then she died in her mother's. How she came back to life, I don't know. Maybe she was just a fighter like you and used the last fiber of will she had left to reach for you." Chris sighed heavily. "And then we both know what happened after you hid her safely."

"You shot me in the head while I was grieving over my dead wife," Sloane snarled.

"You gave me no choice. You were tearing me up with those claws of yours and you were about to do the same to my sister," he made a point to look at Sloane's hands clutching his coat collar. Sloane didn't release him quite yet. "It was either going to be you, Kate or me that day. Surely you'd understand that," Chris argued.

"_You killed me in front of my daughter_," Sloane seethed. "Everything I worked for –to stop the cycle of death and devastation the rest of my family was thrown into –was destroyed when my daughter had to witness our family being slaughtered. I tried my best to erase those memories from her with the few moments I had left so she wouldn't be scarred."

"That's what you did to me. Those scratches…they erased my memory," Chris accused. "Why," he demanded fiercely.

"So you'd forget my daughter existed and assure her safety because you wouldn't look for her. I would have done the same to that bitch of your sister," he snarled, "but she ran way and Madison had to walk in on the carnage you two left behind. Unfortunately I died before I could get rid of that last image of her head –of seeing her parents bloodied and sprawled on the floor with arrows in our heads and a knife gouged into my wife's back. She's a lot smarter and determined than we both would have liked and her memory pulled through when it came to remembering the sound of your voice, or Kate's, and patenting your faces in her mind as she witnessed you setting our house ablaze. You didn't know she was outside to witness that. You had the audacity to burn the house down assuming she was in it." Sloane roared. Chris stumbled back at the furious Alpha –as Sloane had maintained the right.

"At the moment, '_I didn't know she existed,' _my memory was erased, remember?" Chris justified, tossing back Sloane's words against him. Sloane trembled, eager to shift and rip him to shreds with his bared teeth but he kept his beast at bay and unhandled Chris, shoving him aside and creating a safe distance between them.

"But Kate did," Sloane said lowly. His eyes sparked red, igniting an old fury, but he killed it with reasoning and coaxed himself back into chilling blue. "You killed me before I had the chance to kill her. She ought to have told you." Sloane demanded. Chris shook his head furiously.

"She didn't tell me anything. She ran for something or someone behind the wall – for Madison, I know now –but I didn't hear any struggle. I heard Kate scream bloody murder before she dragged me out of the home and demanded I scorch the place. She never told me what she saw."

"She saw death," Sloane seethed. "She saw exactly what Madison did. She saw a cloaked black figure with hellish red eyes lurking from the shadows, hovering over my daughter. She knew it was not of our world and there was no way she could combat it. She ran because that's what her human instincts told her to. You don't confront death –you just don't. No sane human being would ever think they'd come out of that battle or even go in thinking they had the upper hand. Kate was smart in that one instance –but here's the thing –once you see death, you can't un-see it. You can run all you want but you can't hide and you can't run from it. Kate was petrified of it –as she ought to have been –and no fire would ever distinguish that fear and ultimately, it came looking for her. It caught her and dragged her back to the depths of Inferno where she deserves to be," he snarled, wrinkling his nose in absolute disgust. In that one moment, he truly looked like a monster, with wild red eyes and glistening teeth eager to tear into flesh before it disappeared behind a cool mask.

"Do you know what it looks like?" Chris asked. He staggered for breath as a cold chill climbed up his spine and bounced throughout his body.

"It varies…" Sloane admitted. "That's beside the point." Sloane shook his head deliberately. "I promised myself I would not get worked up about this. _The past is the past_..." he reminded himself solemnly. "As long as my daughter is alive and well, I have no reason to kill you. Kate is dead –so I can't avenge Aubrey. My only task on earth is to protect my daughter from the forces that may come after her. You see, the concern you ought to have is that fact she survived –she died and came back and Aubrey as well as any other witch you may come across can assure you that doesn't happen without consequences. Dark magic was at play when my daughter was a revived and I'm afraid it's going to unleash chaos very, _very _soon."

"You're revived," Chris observed, "does that mean you're like her, too?"

Sloane pursed his lips into a worrisome line. "Unfortunately, she and I are not the only ones roaming the land of the living with the mark of death. I also came to warn you besides guaranteeing your mortality. The Alpha pack isn't the only pack you should fear."

Chris felt a shiver climb up his spine. "What do you mean Sloane," Chris demanded desperately. "We have a pack of Apex predators, two revived members of the most notorious, blood thirsty clan from the Eastern hemisphere, and you're telling me that's not enough problems to plague us?"

Sloane inhaled sharply. "You've heard the term Hell Hound before on plenty of occasions." Chris nodded his head slowly as Sloane spoke, hiding his horror at what was sure to come afterwards. "There's a deal my family made with the afterlife. Many werewolves such as the Hale pack and Deucalion and his consorts consulted Druids –witches of another degree –while my kind consulted prophets and psychics –spiritual beings with direct connection to the other life rather than the element of nature. Because of that link, we could stay in contact with those spiritual beings after death and many times would strike a deal with death itself. Death would usually present itself in many forms –in my case –it presented itself through the image of my daughter as I last remembered her. Death favors presenting itself as someone we love or fear the most –both emotions are strong enough to persuade us to do almost anything. Werewolves that come from circumstances such as mine are granted the opportunity to return to the land of the living –unharmed –almost brand new –with the advantage of immortality but at a very high price. We have to pay a debt to death with the exchange of our free will. We're practically hunting hounds for the other side. Sometimes there is one master, sometimes there are more. We don't know who –as they appear in different forms to each of us –but we're pawns and whenever we're needed, we can't help but oblige –whether we know it or not."

"Are you saying we're anticipating more Hell Hounds? What do you mean?" Chris ordered loudly. "Do you mean a pack of them?" He whispered out in disbelief. "How is it possible?"

"When there is so much death in one area, sometimes… like blood in water… or a rotting carcass…death leaves a scent and as many as five come together to that one location to seek it out, and unfortunately for you, Beacon Hills has an epidemic of massacres as of late and the wolves are already on their way," he warned eerily, "I can sense it. There is a shift in the wind, whispers in the dark, howls in the night –you can't hear them but I can."

"And this master…is he controlling all of them?"

"I don't know… I do know though that the casualty toll will sky rocket when they step foot into Beacon Hills and the population will all but be depleted. There's nothing we can do. Madison and I will be safe…but I'm afraid anyone not like us will be at their mercy. There's no clue to what will happen or who will die but death will surely precede and follow their arrival. _That I am sure about,_" Sloane cautioned.

"I understand," Chris accepted slowly, intrigued by the intimate reveal of a process he knew very little about. His mind tried to warp itself around the tsunami of information but he came up blank. Chris and Sloane eyed each other in slight understanding and mutual –but very thin –trust. "Thank you," Chris honestly said. He sighed and lowered his voice solemnly. "I-I don't know what you're telling me this. I could imagine my death would be your greatest wish and yet…you're warning me about my family and friends and everyone's welfare. I…I don't know what I can do to ever make it even between us."

"You destroyed my family but the paranoia of avoiding the consequences ruined any chance of happiness in your life. I think an eye-for-an-eye is suitable enough." Sloane was modest enough to suffice. Chris smiled meekly in appreciation but his focused eyes reminded Sloane Chris was not the gullible type. Sloane knew deep down in the retired hunter laid dormant a petrified man who was all but paralyzed with the hyper vigilant fear that perhaps Sloane would go back on his word. It would only be natural for the superior predator to take the easy opportunity to swipe and decapitate the man who had slaughtered his family but Sloane wasn't that man anymore –he was a father before a warrior –and although he despised the fact his wife's murder was void of closure, he understood his role as a father preceded everything else –including expired vengeance.

"Before you go," Chris had to ask as Sloane took his turn to leave, "I have to ask. You're connection to the other side –what else can you do? If you collect souls, can you bring them back to earth yourselves?"

Sloane shook his head. "Only if the master requests." Sloane dusted off his jacket and flatted the flaps of his collar against his broad shoulders.

"Who's the master?" Chris desperately asked.

"I do not know," Sloane answered honestly over his shoulder.

"Is there a way for me to find him?" Chris persisted passionately while the image of his passed wife spurred him further.

"Only if you cross over the other side, you could," Sloane answered, "and only one person of your likes –I guess, if you put him in such a category –has entered the land of the dead and returned without being killed in the process."

"Who," Chris demanded but by then, the ghost of the man Chris saw as legendary had disappeared into the shadow of the darkness, evaporating just like his reputation told over the years that had preceded the fair-haired man.


	22. Devil's Deal P3 (3x06 Motel California)

_Teen Wolf_

Madison walked briskly around the building, gathering her thoughts in the solitude of the quiet night. Some crickets clicked, occasional birds swooped down to inspect the concrete for crumbs before fluttering away, and even a mouse skittered close to her bare feet in search of haven from the predatory birds of the nights –she saw the familiar golden eyes of an owl not long ago. It would only be a matter of time before the patient bird got his deserved meal.

Her hair was still damp and clung to her shoulders, dripping water onto the filmy material of the nightgown she retrieved in haste. The dress was short and clung closely to her rear, too close for comfort, so she grabbed an additional cardigan from her batch of clothes that was only slightly longer but enough to cover her arms that were caped with goose bumps.

She couldn't grasp all the images of the past hour or how on earth they could ever make sense. They didn't. She was overwhelmingly confused, so dazed even her stride was hindered with sloppy steps.

She abruptly stopped when she caught a figure walking parallel to her. She knew immediately from the t-shirt and the hair cut it was Tabitha. She couldn't suppress her joy and all but screamed her name. Tabitha jolted and looked towards her direction.

"Oh my God, Tabitha," Madison exclaimed in relief. Tabitha spun and stared at Madison with wide eyes. Madison engulfed her in a tight hug. "Oh my God," she whispered, unable to handle the tremendous panic spiking her pulse. "I'm so glad to see you," she whispered. Tabitha hugged her back and patted her back.

"O-o-okay, I mean, I've been gone for only twenty minutes but uh, sure. What happened," Tabitha asked.

"I saw something…I can't explain. I was in the shower and I smelled smoke," Madison began, pulling away to observed Tabitha's expression for insight as she continued. "I went to check it out but it disappeared so I went back to bathroom but then I _heard _knocks and I looked around some more only to narrow it to the mirror, but that doesn't seem right –why would the mirror be knocking? I looked at it and then my reflection changed. I can't explain it. I didn't look…like me. I had…" she faded off as she shivered, remembering the image. Tabitha took noticed and nodded in understanding. "I looked like a monster. I felt my face and I didn't have fangs or claws like my reflection did and it freaked me out. Not only that, the person in the mirror started to scratch the mirror and then it got really hot and I all but bolted." She gestured to her sloppy arrangement of a flimsy purple night grown and faded grey cardigan escape to cover her bare arms and shoulders as the urgent fistful of clothes she took in her but her pale legs and bare feet were undefended against the bitter cold. "I am at a loss right now. I don't understand any of it. That wasn't my reflection. I'm not that…that…monster. I swear," she pleaded.

Tabitha nodded slowly and pulled her into a tight hug again, gripping the cotton fabric of the cover up.

"Of course, you're a monster, Madison," Tabitha murmured in her ear. Madison's tight grip loosened in shock at her friend's harsh words. "You've always been a monster. You're a psychopathic killer who is incapable of feeling anything to anyone."

Madison's heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat as the words were filtered through her denial until she was forced to swallow them. She stiffened as Tabitha's cold voice continued to seep through her ear and she was colder by the minute, freezing like a stature in Tabitha's hold. Her horrified eyes widened in absolute terror as she processed the authenticity of the exchanged words.

"All the people who surround you are just pawns –me, Scott, Isaac, Stiles, Derek –all of them. You don't give a rat's ass about them. You only care if they get killed because for some sick reason we only serve a purpose to serve you and it'd be a _huge inconvenience_ to you if we died –but we're disposable and you'd easily replace us with the next unfortunate soul. Who knows, maybe you'll find another athlete coming home late from practice and you'll bite her on whim, too, because you're desperate for companionship –since no one in their right mind would ever want to be around you. So you force them," Tabitha taunted as she slipped out of Madison's limp grip and held her out at arm's reach.

Madison stumbled over her footing in rare imbalance as the unexpected words from the closest of her friends had her staggering. Her felt angry warmth boil in the pit of her stomach but it was held at bay by disbelief when she challenged her indifferent friend.

"Then why are you sticking around," Madison seethed behind clenched teeth. She fisted her hands together to control her impulse to slap her –because despite her best friend's attempt to provoke her –Tabitha was still in her best friend. Madison's cold blue eyes narrowed in slits, darkening into the darkest of stormy opal as she weighed the audacity of her closest friend.

"Because I have no choice," Tabitha bit back with a tone that all but slapped Madison off balance. She stepped back closer to the rail but did not grip it as she tried to regain her stance. Tabitha further pushed each painful accusation towards Madison with a raise of voice. "You sabotaged everything in my life so I'd only be dependent on you –because you interpret this sick master-slave relationship as 'sisterhood' when in reality, we don't care at all about each other," she snarled, gesturing with her hands with a wide swoop. "If it wasn't for you, I'd be home with my family –_all _of my family. Todd wouldn't be dead, my father wouldn't hate me, and I could enjoy the simple life. I don't though because some lonely little girl decided to ruin my life for the sake hers would be just a little bit brighter –because your happiness survives on the misery of others. If you can't have a family, neither shall I. You can't have a father –even though you have 2 –which isn't enough for you –because let's face it, nothing will ever enough for you –so you have to sabotage my relationship with mine as if you feel need the share the pain."

"No," Madison protested loudly as Tabitha listed it off with her fingers, "_no! That's not it! How on earth can you come up with that?" _she demanded fiercely. _"I would never wish that upon you. I'm not that sick. You can't blame that on me! That wasn't my intention! Shut up! You have no fucking clue what you're talking about!" _She shrieked. Tabitha rolled her eyes.

"Then what was your intention, huh? Don't lie to me and say you didn't wish for this –all of this. You've been counting off the days until the rift between my family and I was so deeply wedged, that I'd be left alone –just like you –so we'd sail the same damn ship to 'strengthen our bond.' The rift created by the secrets you _promised me _to keep, the ones I agreed to, knowing it meant I would have to choose you over my family in some sick little way to assert absolute loyalty. You made my life miserable and I had no say about it. There is no way you can justify it."

"What the hell are you talking about? You were just as eager to hide the secret –you didn't know how your family would react to the revelation you turn into a wolf on whim! Don't blame me for that! I was helping you! Remember all the times I covered for you? It was an equal deal! It wasn't like you weren't the only party! I had to hide it from my family, too, and I knew exactly how hard that was! Don't talk like you're the only one who had family issues! Second, I opened up my home to you," Madison argued fiercely. _You were the only one who I opened up to! _Madison wanted to scream out but Tabitha had already interrupted, cutting her off.

"Because you've wanted it all along and I had no choice but to accept because you gave me no other option. You _sabotaged_ my family, Madison, so I would have no family to go to. I only had you because you made it that way. No way or form can you word that to make it seem even less despicable that it really is."

"_How can you say these things," _Madison cried out when she had no rebuttal prepared. Her sight blurred with traitorous tears as Tabitha's sharp words pierced her fragile armor, lodging the spearheads of her cruel insults into Madison's soft core. "You're my best friend, Tabi. We've always been there for each other. Why are you saying these things to me, of now of all times?"

"If not me, some other unfortunate girl who was targeted by your insecurities," Tabitha callously retorted. "I was just an opportunity –some nameless face –someone who _you _wanted at your side –and you didn't even try to converse with me, not one word. You took everything away from me within one swipe, hoping I could fulfill your little hole in your heart. I could have died, Madison. I was in the hospital for three days, and then add to that the anguish I felt on multiple occasions after disappointing my father time after time because you force me to, and having to see my brother die because you put me into a line of danger. Add to that the time I almost died on what would have been my deathbed because you dragged my ass to Russia. I would be dead right now if it wasn't for small interventions –and you can bet confidently that it would be some other person to fill my place, perhaps Scott, Allison, Lydia, or Isaac? You don't care about the person –you only care about the idea –and having your feathers stroked because you selfishly only care about yourself."

"What the hell, Tabitha? Do you how many times I got myself in serious trouble? It's not always your ass on the line! Do you have any idea what I'd do for you? What I have done for you? If anything happened to you, I'd die inside," she pointed fiercely, jabbing her chest painfully to emphasize the location of her heart. Tabitha sneered at the pseudo-sentimental notion. "I watched you suffer over and over again and I felt worse than you can imagine. You can't accuse me of not caring. You certainly can't bet that you aren't important either. I have said it plenty of times before and mean it every single time –especially after you almost died. I went to Hell and back looking for anything that could cure you and look where you're at now, as _a human,_" Madison objected adamantly, shoving Tabitha's shoulder hard but hardly enough to knock her into a wall. Tabitha glowered at Madison who displayed equal disdain and very little appreciation for Tabitha's uncalled for attitude and belittling. "See, _that's a silver lining!_ I don't know why you're saying these things or what on Earth possessed you to do so, but you of all people –no matter how close we are –cannot say that. You know me better than anyone –you know I'm not selfish. Everything I've done, I've put **_the people I cared about_** first –including you. Sure, the way we met was the least orthodox way but like any other relationship, we built from it. I trust you with my life, my secrets, and even though I had my personal reservations about sharing intimate, dark details about my past and my problems, I never hesitated to share them with you because we have a bond where freely can do the same with me and expect the same result."

"Really," Tabitha retorted bitterly, "like I had a choice. I don't trust you but that didn't mean I couldn't pretend to save my own life. You could –and can –kill me at any given moment if I even show a hint that I might stray. I have to tolerate you."

Madison shook her head profusely. "We've stuck together through everything. I would never hurt you intentionally and you know that. I don't know why you doubt me now. I could have let you died on your deathbed, killing you out of mercy so you wouldn't have to suffer."

Madison heaved with anger, contorting her face with equal measure as her face deepened into a mild red as she slowly elevated into a new level of rage she hadn't experience in a long time.

"I suffered every day!" Tabitha screeched, losing her cap. She stepped close enough that Madison could see the blood shot roots lining Tabitha's exhausted eyes, reaching towards her glowering green pupils which seemed to darken into a dangerous depth that matched her chaotic emotional storm swirling inside the pit of her stomach. "I lost my brother and I was exiled by my family and all because of you and your so called gift you force upon me! I'd much rather die and end it all then be stuck in the same fucking situation with you!" She threw back like dirt. Madison winced at the whip of words and felt an uncomfortable stir in her torso, feeling physically ill. "I didn't have a choice and I had to endure you. All you could do is assure me that you'd always accept me? Do you know how that felt? I was doomed to rely on the one person who made my life _miserable! I had to be reminded each and every day I'm stuck with the same fucking person who ruined my life because they would be the only one to understand me –but you don't! You only like the idea of loyalty even if it's not willing. This is an abusive relationship, Madison, do you realize that? It sickens me you have no issue with my suffering or anyone else's so long you get to smile at the end of day because you don't have to worry about being alone. You'd rather be surrounded by the people who hate you than rather be alone because you're that fucking pathetic." _

_"SHUT UP!" _Madison screamed. She succumbed to her impulse and struck her without thinking and instantly retracted her hand as if she had been burned when the whip of a crack only flesh contact could make brought her back from her blinding rage.

Tabitha choked out blood and instinctively cradled her hand around her neck, suppressing the warm flow of blood seeping through fingers as the deep cut made by Madison's claws gouging deeply through her flesh. In that split second, while Madison heaved ferociously in her corner, Tabitha's body plummeted in her weakened and shocked state.

She gasped loudly as Tabitha's body slapped onto the floor with a thundering thud. Madison wiped the overflow of tears from her face and knelt down to aid her friend. "I'm so sorry, Tabitha. I didn't mean it. I didn't to hurt you. I'm so sorry. I was so angry. You shouldn't have said that –but –but –you should because we have to honest and if you meant it –oh my God, are you okay? You're right, you're right," Madison stuttered as she hoisted Tabitha's limp body onto her lap, cradling her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry, Tabi," she whimpered. Her lips curled into a sour cry as she tried to hold back the suffocating sobs lodged in her throat. "You hate me…" she realized, "you really hated me," she choked out. Tears slipped from her face onto Tabitha's shirt. "You hated me all this time a-an-and and you have every right to," she sniffled. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed. She curled her body around Tabitha's, resting the brunette's head in her lap as Madison curled her legs and brought her knees upwards. "I take it all back. I wish I could. I don't want you to hate me. I love you Tabi. I don't want to hurt you anymore," she choked out. "All I wanted was for us to be close. I need someone to understand me and I thought you did. That's why I always wanted you around. It was because I trusted you –and I couldn't trust anyone else. You didn't depend on me, Tabs. It was the other way around. I depended on you. I love you, Tabi. I need you. You're right. I need you and it's selfish of me but no one wants to be, especially not me," she incoherent mumbled.

She was a complete mess. Tabitha's short, youthful existence was defiled by Madison's selfishness. The sick, torturous cycle had finally stopped for the young girl as the very being who chained her to her pitiful life of solitude and torment had freed her in the most gruesome way. This was not the way Tabitha deserved to go. She was a fighter –someone who had endured and survived all of life's cruel obstacles and Madison's painful wounds with perseverance and determination. Yet she succumbed to Madison's final strike out of spite and Madison was once again reminded with another incapacitating feat of body aches of the guilt to forever plague her existence. Tabitha was wrong –Madison would never be able to replace her, _never. _The gaping hole in her heart was eating her alive until she was nothing. Tabitha was reserved a special place in her mind and heart and with her gone, she felt empty and light, like she was tossed off the ground, only to be hit was guilt that was just as hard and bruising as landing on hard pavement would feel like.

There were times that Madison was impulsive –they were very few as the years passed but they were significant moments for her that she couldn't erase the memories of. She tried but she couldn't shake them off and as each day passed, the weight of each regretful action weighed her down. Every deeply buried, emotionally sprung urge was immediately followed by turmoil –external or internal –it didn't matter because the chaos was too dangerous. She couldn't afford those mistakes anymore –people got hurt because of them –and she had to feel the brunt of each and every ounce of misery inflicted upon them. That's why she couldn't be like Derek. She couldn't be motivated by personal vendettas –not anymore –the rage blinded her and impaired her reasoning. In doing so, those that were close to her were put at risk, and in the instance such as that in extreme, was the perfect example –as her best friend died in her lap from her recklessness.

That's why people _should _she her as a monster –not because she was cold or callous –but because if she wasn't logical and pragmatic, her impulsive side would create a casualty tab as long as or even longer than Derek's. She couldn't afford any more losses in her life. Her parents were one thing –they were taken from her. She couldn't blame herself for that. She could deal with the mild guilt she earned from her vigilante slayings of hunters as retributions to save others from the same fate or spare a stranger of the similar overbearing loss of a loved one she experienced too young of an age –but she only had herself to blame for Tabitha's murder. She murdered her own best friend.

She was the cause of Tabitha's suffering. She regretted the moment she came to and overlooked the damage she inflicted on Tabitha's body and she was the one to call in the ambulance. She was one of the few outside-family-visitors to place fresh flowers by her bedside and hold her hand as if to compensate for her cruel actions. She needed to make up for it. She was young and reckless but she wasn't uncaring. She was protective of Tabitha and jumped at her every moment, eager to help her at every step because she had a lifetime of making it up to her. She felt the full blow of rejection when Tabitha ran from her in fright after Madison bore the whole truth to her behind the school's soccer yard after practice to prevent any unnecessary displays. She helped her transition –even when Tabitha hated her for it –and soon the two were inseparable. Madison was thankful for the company and actually helping someone directly. She was grateful she could share everything with someone who was so willing to listen and understanding –even if she didn't have any other alternative other than to take it all in given the dramatic turn of her circumstances.

Madison began to feel what genuine friendship was when they two bonded over the experience and Madison relied on her more than she could have imagined. She'd invite her over for dinner at every opportunity and would sneak in with her at lunch –away from the other upper income girls who called themselves her 'friends' when they didn't know half the stuff about her that Tabitha did. They'd become playfully competitive and at that point Madison realized Tabitha was her first real friend.

That was magnetized when she had to witness Tabitha mourn for her brother –and her protective urge was amplified. She had to create distance though. She didn't want to intrude on family matters. Tabitha wasn't family –not blood wise –but Madison adopted her as a sister and being so, she could suppress the need to help her in any way possible.

Those little moments of them outrunning each other and teasing the other of being out of shape, or splurging on junk food while watching a corny romantic movie, to the deeper end of the spectrum where Tabitha and Madison could opening discuss the loss of her parents and feel relieved to share that burden onto someone else. Did Tabitha even realize how important she was to Madison's life? Did she realize she was the only one to really try and talk to her? She probably would never know Madison would never find a friend like that in her life time. She was the only one she could share her secrets with. A close connection like that was one-in-a-million.

She heaved painfully, wincing each time as she inhaled for another sharp breath of cool, midnight air that burned her throat. She wailed painfully and clutched her hands around Tabitha's torso and brought her head to her shoulder. Tabitha's slick body slipped in Madison's grip, as the blood smeared over her palms. She refused to let her go and clutched the damp fabric of Tabitha's shirt. Madison desperately clung to Tabitha's limp body and apologized profusely into her chest, and was tormented further, stabbed each time there was the absence of Tabitha's once lively heartbeat. Her tears soak with Tabitha's spilled blood as she continued to mourn silently, choking on her own words as her wide mouth awaiting the banshee screech she had sung before when Derek plummeted, only this time the excruciating agony was so paralyzing she couldn't even speak, being diminished to nothing more than what it seemed to be a statue, forever engraved with the expression of agony, as her heart hardened and pounded painfully against her rib cage like a heavy boulder, slamming against her frail emotional structural pillars until she crumbled completely.

_Teen Wolf_

"A hundred and ninety eight," Allison asked from the bathroom, glancing from the open doorway to her mystified friend.

"Yes…" Lydia trailed off weakly, still stunned by the admission. "Al, we're talking about forty years! On average that's… four point nine five a year which is…actually expected…" Lydia trailed off with a nod, finishing the sentence in her head as Allison walked by briskly, sliding on a shirt over her torso while she traveled across the small room. "Who commemorates that with a framed number? Who does that? Who," Lydia exclaimed incredulously.

"All suicides," Allison inquired skeptically, narrowing her eyes doubtfully as she eyed her friend. Lydia didn't notice as she drifted her eyes to a corner in a daze, drifting into her own solitude of her puzzled mind.

"Yes, hanging, throat cutting, pill popping, both barrels of a shot gun in the mouth suicides," Lydia emphasized morbidly with clenched teeth, catching the unconvinced tone in Allison's voice. "I don't know about you but me-I…" she stopped abruptly, hearing something undistinguishable at first within the barriers of their modest room.

_"W-which one do you want," _a distant voice asked.

"Did you hear that," Lydia asked quietly, slightly disturbed by the eerie interruption.

"Hear what," Allison asked back, not quite sure what Lydia was referring to.

_"I don't know, the smaller one I guess," _a female voice replied to the previous one with the same amount of uncertainty.

_"It's okay," _the male voice assured, "_smaller is better. There's less kick." _ Lydia was honed on the vent where the source was, intrigued by the foreign conversation. _"I'll change the round," _he said. Lydia stepped onto the bed under the vent quietly to get a better grasp of the conversation. _"Alright…so…" _

_"Wait, wait, what do I…I mean-do you count?" _The female stuttered nervously.

_"Yeah, yeah, I'll count to three," _the male scrambled to say, just as nervous as his female companion.

_"So… after three, or on the three?" _The female inquired. She was most likely procrastinating to avoid the morbid end they were preparing.

_"You tell me," _the male switched controls, handing her the power of authority in the situation in a cruel turn of events. Lydia let out a shaky breath as her adrenaline pumped nervously through her system, mortified by what was to come.

"Lydia," Allison called out.

"Oh my God," Lydia gasped, wavering her panicked glanced from the vent to her concerned friend. "Oh my God…."

_"One…two…then pull the trigger," _the woman instructed, calmer than before.

_"I love you," _the male bid for the last time as his final rite.

_"I love you, too," _the female assure just as fervently.

_"One, two," _the male repeated quickly, followed the loud, thundering crack of echoing discharges of a gun. Lydia was thrown back in fright.

"What is it, Lydia," Allison asked immediately, noticing the magnitude of the horror painted all over Lydia's paling face. "What happened?"

"Didn't you hear that?" Lydia struggled to breathe out. Her voice was wispy and airy as the wind was knocked out of her lungs from the fright of the shot.

"Hear what?" Allison asked loudly, perplexed by the situation at hand but equally concerned for her best friend.

"The two people in the other room," Lydia struggled out, slipping off the bed in a soft thud as her feet hit the carpet. She walked past Allison in a daze, gathering her own thoughts, "they shot each other," she swallowed the truth. The reality hit her and she darted to the door, scrambling to twist the knob and get to the couple.

Allison followed behind her, slightly disturbed by the event of Lydia's revelation when Allison didn't hear a lick of it, but followed her friend faithfully as the panicked red head scrambled to get to the other door, pushing down hard on 216's handle. It slid open with ease, opening widely into the dark, unlit room.

"Hello," Lydia called out to the darkness. No reply. She flicked the switch next to her desperately but it was futile as the room was still pitch black. Allison stood back hopelessly until Lydia ventured in the cluttered space.

"Lydia, what are you doing," Allison whispered heatedly, disturbed by her friend's behavior.

"Hello," Lydia called out again despairingly. Her palms tapered over the walls until her fingers connected with the recognizable wire of a work light. She flicked it on and turned her vision to the main center of the room, Allison right behind her with similar set of eyes. They were both perplexed but not as frightened as Lydia when she began to question her sanity when all she saw was paper and paint for renovations. "It had to be right _here," _Lydia stated adamantly, clinging to her sanity. "It was a guy and a girl and," she breathed out heavily as reality set in, burdening her with a heavy weight of doubt, "they sounded younger but… they were here," she pleaded to Allison. She shook in her spot as Allison's dark form approached her.

"I believe you," Allison said calmly. Allison knew whatever was going on with Lydia's head wasn't just a coincidence. Lydia was a vital factor in all of this and from the past Allison knew she was sensitive to something. She had no reason to doubt Lydia and knew all her friend needed was assurance. "After everything we've been through, I believe you," Allison pressed.

"Oh thank God," another voice exclaimed. Allison and Lydia spun around to the doorway in fright but relaxed slightly when they recognized the new visitor as Tabitha.

"Tabitha," Allison greeted hesitantly, stepping forward but not close enough to touch the exhausted brunette, "what are you doing here? Where's Madison," she interrogated intensely. She eyed the hallway around the panting girl with weary pupils before peeping back into the small renovation room. She subconsciously glanced back again, unable to shake off the assumption Madison was nearby, as Tabitha played the faithful sidekick. Where Tabitha might be, Madison wasn't far behind, and that was almost always a recipe for disaster.

Tabitha doubled over for catch her breath and Lydia padded over to aid the struggling brunette. Tabitha leaned back and rested her hand over her heart to calm the fierce beating under her breast bone.

"I don't know," Tabitha whispered hoarsely, weak of voice. "I looked in our room but she disappeared and then I heard under the bed but I was too scared to look under it. I," she struggled for breath, "I can't find her."

"You can't find Madison?" Allison incredulously asked. Lydia's eyes widened as she connected the dots from a previous conversation with Stiles.

"She just disappeared," she struggled to rasp out. "The shower was on and it was as hot as a shower can get and there were like claw marks on the mirror it seemed like. I can't find her and I know this is bad. This is so bad." She kneeled down and bent her head between her knees to balance her aching head. Allison stepped forward and rubbed her back soothingly, feeling the tension in her shoulders.

"We need to find her. Where she goes, death follows," Lydia asserted desperately. Tabitha shook her head adamantly.

"She's not going to kill anybody," Tabitha groaned. "I swear."

"No, no," Lydia corrected, "she's not. Someone else is. She's just going to show us where first."

"I don't understand," Tabitha said fervently. Allison shared the same confounded expression as Tabitha.

Lydia groaned. "She's a Hell Hound. They go where death visits. If we can beat whoever if going to kill someone next by following where she goes, maybe we can save someone's life," Lydia insisted. Tabitha's brows furrowed incredulously while Allison nodded in understanding, trusting her. Tabitha was heaved up gently by Allison and guided outside the room, returning to the stairs. "Can you sniff out where she went?"

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I would have done that instead of pounding on doors for the last twenty five minutes? I can't smell like she can," she emphasized sarcastically. "I can't track her." Lydia leered back.

"You're a werewolf," Lydia pointed, "and you can't smell?" Tabitha glared at the ignorant strawberry blonde and Lydia veered back apprehensively, frightened by the subtle but dark animosity under the girl's thick black lashes.

"Not quite," Tabitha murmured sharply, with a hint of shame, Lydia detected. "A little mishap pretty much obliterated my sense of smell. I'm not much useful than any other human."

"What about her phone," Allison inquired. Tabitha rolled her eyes. She was so used to Madison being one step ahead that the slow progress the two human girls shared was almost infantile –something that urged Tabitha to snap a remark but she bit her tongue. This was Allison and Lydia –two girls she wasn't remotely close to, one of whom she inhibited secret envy for because the one guy she adores harbors deep affections for his childhood crush, and another, where the hunter despised the amateur werewolf due to Tabitha threatening Allison's father (but it was justified, Tabitha stood by.)

"It's in the motel room –she abandoned it," Tabitha insisted, but she couldn't be sure. She had run out in such a haste, perhaps the phone was elsewhere or Madison chose not to answer? There were a variety of reasons to why she kept on receiving Madison's cheery voicemail. Allison's face tightened with suspicion when she caught the second of hesitation in Tabitha's shifty green eyes. "Or maybe not," Tabitha corrected quietly, "I don't know. All I know is that she's not answering her cell phone so no matter how many times you dial her number it's futile." Lydia cursed under breath at the difficult situation at hand.

"We need to follow her," Lydia persisted. "If you can't follow her scent," Lydia struggled to come up with an alternative but came up empty. She tossed her hand up in the air and let out a hiss of frustration.

Tabitha clasped her hands together in thought. "I…she's my best friend. I know her the best and I could probably predict her next movement. I can't guarantee answers –tracking is her thing –but she could be in serious trouble and until the pit in my stomach goes away, I will go to the end of the earth to find her to make sure she's okay."

_Teen Wolf _

"There goes that," Lydia sighed, defeated, when their search for Madison had alternated to the search for the front desk clerk –both coming up empty and missing. Tabitha jittered anxiously for a second and eyed the contemporary surroundings with disdain –not in the least thrilled their search had been side tracked.

"Did you say that sign said 198?" Allison asked, alarmed at the revelation. Tabitha eyed the posted numbers wearily from behind them, narrowing her eyes as she tried to connect it to the exclusive conversation the two best friends were having ignorant of Tabitha's presence.

"It _was _198," Lydia confirmed in shock after she swung her head back to the numbers Allison had pointed out. Her eyes widened like saucers in unadulterated dread as the numbers and the revelation three more would be added to the morbid list of 'suicides' gathered in her logic in a tangled, disturbing web. "I swear to God it was 198…" She panicked.

"Okay," Allison hustled, "what does that mean? There's going to be three more suicides?" She hurried in a similar panicked fashion.

"Or three more are about to happen," Lydia whispered quietly, as the shock diminished the strength in her voice and she was left with nothing but a breathless whimper.

Tabitha sagged her shoulders in defeat and started to walk away, fisting her hands as she took control of the situation herself and vouched she would find Madison herself rather than deal with troublesome situation Lydia and Allison were adding onto the plate.

"We need to Madison –I bet that's where she is," Lydia exasperated. She looked around for Tabitha as she addressed the third wheel, "Tabi-" she began but she cut herself off when the Latina was absent from the room. "Where's Tabitha," Lydia demanded in a panic. Allison gulped, as she, too, found no one other than themselves in the room. "She was just here," Lydia pointed out futilely, unable to gather anything else in her crammed mind.

Allison's mouth dried as she held her mouth agape in a silent answer –unable to produce anything to calm her frizzed friend.


End file.
